Unlucky Thirteen
by Gregora
Summary: When Allie is driven out of her bed by strange sounds in her attic, she became the sole witness of the Doctor regenerating into his thirteenth iteration: a ginger haired woman. She is determined to help the alien understand what it means to be a girl and to keep the Time Lord from being cruel. However, she learns just what it means to travel with the Doctor. Story's better, I hope.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

An Unlucky Beginning

There was a large crack before thunder boomed, causing the windows to rattle with the force of the sound. Allie wrapped her blankets around her even more tightly, creating a much tighter cocoon made of blankets as she struggled to pretend that she was somewhere, anywhere else. Somewhere where there wasn't a storm which sounded almost as if it was a hurricane rather than the quite ordinary summertime thunderstorm. The wind howled as lightning flashed with a crack only a short moment before the boom of thunder which made the windows rattle again. That was a close strike. She shivered, placing a thick pillow on top of her head as she wished the worst of the storm could pass and she could sleep peacefully.

BOOM! She paused before jolting upright. It wasn't thunder. It sounded like something crashed into her house. She blinked, believing for a few seconds that fear had finally made her completely insane and she was hearing things.

"Of course I'm hearing things," she muttered to herself, "I do have ears. Nitwit."

It was then that she heard the ceiling above her creak with footsteps. Or it was the house settling. She always had those two sounds confused with each other. After all, ever since she inherited the house, she formed the habit of hearing footsteps in the attic and finding nothing but boxes which were all that constituted her childhood and her family's past. There weren't much in the attic and at times it bothered her that so much of her family's legacy was completely unknown to her. Whole generations were unknown to her.

Thump! This time, she knew that someone had to be in the attic if she wasn't completely insane. Crack! Boom! She reached over to her nightstand to turn on her lamp as lightning hit at most half a mile away. She could almost hear a tree shattering off to the distance, just under the howl of the wind and the ruckus in her attic. Her lamp gave her only a few moments of light before she could hear the sound of every appliance in her home lose power all at the same time.

"And this is how all horror stories start. With a blackout and an intruder in the attic," Allie muttered to herself as she opened the drawer and fumbled around for her flashlight.

Turning it on with a click, she padded out of her bedroom with her flashlight in her hand, knowing full well that she was dressed in only a tired old yellow t-shirt with Mario and Yoshi emblazoned on it along with some Japanese text she had no clue what it said and a pair of cut-off shorts which started life as skinny jeans. She opened the door with no intention of being quiet. She knew that it was hopeless for her to sneak around – she had nothing worth stealing and she wasn't going to put up a fight anyways. Whack jobs love targets which fight back and she wasn't going to play that little game with whoever it was who came crashing into her attic.

Lightning flashed. A few seconds later, the rumble of thunder permeated the house. At the very back of her mind, she registered that the time it took for the sound to reach her meant that the storm was moving away. What made this be a back-of-the-mind type of thought was the fact that she gripped the rail of the stairway in order to keep her from falling down the stairs. She didn't want to accept the idea that she'd let out a frightened cry.

She resumed walking up the stairs as she heard more boxes fall onto the floor with a crash. She hoped that the boxes which fell didn't have anything fragile in them. She was less fearful by the time her hand was on the doorknob. If it was a thief or a murdering psycho, would they have come for her with a weapon in hand already? What bothered her was that light was coming out from around the door. Somehow, something in the attic was emitting light without using electricity.

Pushing the attic door open a crack, she saw a figure in the attic surrounded by the light which hit her in her eyes, nearly blinding her. It was when she heard someone groan as if they were in pain. She opened the door further, seeing a hunched over figure who was clearly distracted by something.

"We're in someone's attic!" the figure exclaimed, clearly a man, "of all places on Earth and you crashed into someone's attic!"

"My attic, to be exact," she stated as she walked into the attic, wanting to get to the bottom of the situation so that she could return to bed and maybe sleep at some point that night.

It was then that she saw the state of her attic. There was a rather sizable hole in the ceiling where she could see rain pouring in. What helped her see the rain was that there was a source of light in the room. In the center of where the roof was destroyed was a blue box, the doors open wide enough to show light, but also a rather large fire within. As soon as she looked at the blue box, the doors closed by itself with a boom.

"Who are you? How did you get into my attic and what do you want from me?" Allie asked quickly as she watched the man, noticing that he had a rather imbalanced gait as she turned her flashlight to illuminate him.

If she were to place an age based on the man's physical appearance, she would put money on him being somewhere between twenty-five and thirty-five. He carried with him a black cane with a metal orb at the end near where he gripped it. He wore a top-hat and dressed in a black suit which clearly looked as if it had seen better days and this wasn't it. A bit of black hair peeked out from the top hat, contrasting with his pure blue eyes which made her think that she was quite wrong on his age. His eyes carried a weight to it which made her almost believe that he was much, much older than he seemed. His face was rather average with a flat nose and thick eyebrows. He gave her a smile which seemed to ooze good nature. She was almost willing to believe that he was harmless. But what troubled her was that he was hunched over, leaning on his cane and pain was etched on his features.

"Sorry for waking you. We had a bit of a crash land," he stated as he tried to stand up straighter, only to flinch and hunch back over, "this was the only place she could get to safely."

"Are you okay?" she asked, not making much sense out of the man's words other than the fact that he was speaking in some form of accent.

"Yes and no. Currently not okay, I'm a long way from okay. But I'll be fine soon. Of all the ways for me to break it to a human that I'm not…well, human…" he said before saying in a cheerful tone, "don't worry. I'll be fine and so will the TARDIS. She's closed the doors so she could repair herself. Just stand right there. Can you do that?"

"Okay, completely disregarding stuff I'm not understanding for now, why are you being so cheerful about dying? Do you actually think that I'm gonna stand here while you die?" she almost snapped at him in a near-panic as she started to walk closer to him.

"Stop! Stay there. I'm trying to keep you calm while explaining what's going to happen to me. Can you just wait a second?" he asked, watching her, his eyes alarmed by her actions as she backed off and gave him a nod, "Okay, good. I'm about to undergo a rather painful process. Every cell in my body is going to change radically and so will my personality. My memories will remain intact. Got it so far?"

"So your face and personality is going to change right in front of me. Oh yeah, like that's not a problem or nothing to worry about," Allie snapped sarcastically, "I don't even know who or what you are."

He shot her a cheeky smirk before removing the top hat with as much of a bow as he could muster, showing that he had a rather nice head of hair before saying, "I'm known only as The Doctor and I'm the last Time Lord in existence and, if I am correct, I'm also the first human-friendly alien you've met in your life. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

He placed his top hat on top of a tower of boxes before reaching over and shook her hand politely, much like a very polite gentleman. She could see just a slight sadness on the edge of his eyes.

"And I'm very sorry that I won't get to know you in this form, but I will get to know you after I regenerate," he said with a smile before setting the cane next to the top hat before standing up straight as what seemed to be golden particles wafted off him, making his skin and hair shimmer with a soft golden light.

He gave her what she could call a hopeful smile as he moved away from the boxes, placing a good amount of distance away from the boxes and the walls as the golden light started to glow in severity as more and more particles radiated from him. His arms flung out as his head snapped back quickly and synchronized with each other which made her think of a puppet whose strings were yanked as the particles became jets of brilliant golden energy coming off of his arms, head, and even legs.

She could almost make out his face as it changed. She could almost see his nose becoming a rather elegant and regal nose as his hairline took over what was his slightly large forehead which was becoming shorter. His black hair shimmered as it grew longer, becoming almost ringlets of a reddish hue as his chin became narrower and a bit sharper. His eyebrows became thinner and a bit fine. It was about at this time that she could hear him let out a cry of pain, which quickly became higher in pitch before quickly becoming a cry of surprise and almost glee as the energy dissipated.

"I'm alive!" the newly-regenerated Doctor exclaim in his new voice, which was rather high, "lemme take stock of everything real quick. Important bits first. Two legs. And they're almost equal in length!Nice! Last body had a shorter left leg. Gave me quite the trouble, I'll tell you that." the Doctor said, shooting Allie a grin before lifting his new left foot and hopping rather awkwardly, "Two feet, good. Five toes on each foot, good," the alien said, standing before stretching the two new arms in front of them, "Clearly, I got two arms. Right's clearly being quite obviously dominant. Why couldn't I get a left-dominant body? Anyways, five fingers on each hand," he said, wriggling his new fingers around with a gleeful chuckle before rubbing his hands over his face, "And one head with two ears, two eyes, a nose and a mouth. Oh and the mole's back! Ha!"

"How can you tell all that without looking?" Allie asked.

"Time Lord thing," the Doctor said lightly with a chuckle before frowning.

"What is it?" Allie asked, flashing her flashlight at the Time Lord and gaping at what she saw in his place.

"Something's out of place. Something I missed," the Doctor said with a frown, "something big and very, very noticeable. And I'm just not catching it."

"Yeah, I'd say so," Allie remarked dryly.

"Don't tell me," the Doctor said worriedly with a pause as he gave her a serious look as if he was going to ask the most important question in his life before asking, "I'm not ginger, am I?"

"I think hair color should be at the bottom of the list," Allie commented.

"My voice is a bit higher than I'm used to," the Doctor said, clearly deep in thought, "confound the regeneration process. My synapses always are on the fritz for fifteen hours afterward."

"Would you rather I tell you what you're not noticing?"

"But that'd ruin half of the fun. Brand new body. Kinda would like to figure everything out for myself. It's the exciting part about it all. Learning about my new body and personality. Everything's new and unknown. How is it not exciting?"

"Maybe because who you were not even five minutes ago is dead?"

"But I'm still alive," the Doctor said, "who I am hasn't changed. I'm still the same man I've always been. Just a new coat of paint. Think of it much like a chrysalis becoming a butterfly. The butterfly isn't a brand new insect, just is a new stage of life for the caterpillar. And very much like a new butterfly, nothing ever fits quite right afterward. Not like I could complain about that again."

"And why's that?" Allie asked.

"Because I've just used up my last regeneration," the Doctor said with a frown, "now, when I die... it's going to be permanent. No more me. No more traveling all of space and time in the TARDIS."

She watched as the alien nearly collapsed into a sitting position, obviously on purpose and out of depression. Suddenly, the lights turned on. She stared at the Doctor, who was sitting on the floor in the middle of the attic. She stared at the Doctor, realizing that before the alien regenerated, he was a man. The alien absentmindedly slipped out of the long coat they had been wearing and was frowning.

"I think perhaps you should look down," Allie said, uncertain about the alien's reaction to what she'd noticed for a while now.

She watched as the alien looked down in morbid curiosity before staring in abject horror at what the alien saw before poking at the offending left lump of flesh. The alien blinked, clearly in disbelief before closing her eyes. Allie could tell that the alien was taking a few deep breaths before returning to pay attention to the two mounds of flesh on the now-female chest in complete and utter terror.

"No, this just can't happen!" the Doctor exclaimed before tearing her attention away from the sight that clearly terrified the alien, "I'm just in a very effeminate body this time around. This isn't happening. Just not happening."

"You're a chick," Allie stated, wanting to beat that into the alien's apparently thick skull.

The alien jumped onto her new feet and strode so that the two of them were face-to-face, only mere feet apart. Allie noticed that she had a few more inches of height compared to the alien, who was giving her quite a glare of anger.

"No! This happens to other Time Lords, not me!" the Doctor exclaimed, now fuming as she continued to glare at Allie, "I'm the Doctor! I'm above that! I'm better than that!"

"So this…happens...during...what was it that you called it...regeneration?" she asked.

"Every now and again, there can be a slight change in gender, but it's uncommon" the Doctor stated off-handedly before returning to her panicking and frustrated mood, "this just can't be happening! Over thirteen hundred years and twelve bodies of being a bloke! And all of a sudden, this?!"

"Oi! Don't knock being a chick unless you've been one for years!" Allie exclaimed.

"Listen," the Doctor said, rounding at Allie with a glare, "I've spent my entire life up until now completely male. And now, I'm not. And it's not like I can up and do that trick again!" the Doctor snapped in anger before her expression changed to one of terror before collapsing into a sitting position on the floor, "I'm gonna die. This is it. I'm going to die."

Allie looked at the alien before approaching the now-woman. Her own head hurt over the impossibility of the situation of the alien who changed his appearance and became a chick. She hadn't even started to think about the blue wooden box which crashed into her attic. She placed a hand on the alien's shoulder.

"Being a chick isn't so bad. Well, most of the time."

"It's not just the gender change. Just that... if I were to suffer a mortal wound... no more regenerations. No more…me. This is the last. That was the last time I would ever be able to regenerate. I'm… I'm going to die. Completely and permanently."

"We're all going to die sometime," Allie said, trying to comfort the completely alien…well, alien.

She watched as the Doctor changed her mood yet again in such a short time, almost leaping to her feet, "right, yes. Horribly rude of me. I plum forgot to ask you for your name. I mean it would be the least I could ask, considering the fact that I crashed my TARDIS into your attic and then regenerated in front of you.."

"Allie Irving," she replied.

"Nice to meet you, Allie," the Doctor said with a polite smile before she collapsed as if she was a marionette whose strings were caught.

"Are you okay?" Allie asked, having failed to catch the alien.

"Yep!" the Doctor exclaimed with a grin, leaping back to try to land on her feet, but nearly fell thanks to a lack of coordination, "regeneration trauma. My body hasn't quite settled yet," the Doctor's mood, yet again changed, looking more embarrassed and uneasy before she asked, "Could I trouble you for some food?"

Author's Note: 3/3/13

So this popped into my head months ago when I had a fun what-if scenario pop into my head- what if the 13th Doctor turned out to be a chick? And this happened. I know that 13 is coming off a bit moody and a bit hyper and a bit of a chatterbox. Mostly because I'm envisioning that with all that regeneration energy within the body, it would be more like a really crazy caffeine and sugar rush. So full of energy and no idea of how to use it all up. So yeah, she's being completely manic due to the energy rush and her body (and mind) has yet to fully settle in. I'm really not trying to copy previous regenerations (like when 11 is trying to get used to his new body) but it's just what I'm seeing regeneration as being like in my head. Also, I'm keeping the original regeneration rule, mostly because it helps facilitate the story and the motivation for this Doctor. Oh the things I've got planned for poor 13. *evil laugh*

~Gregora

Author's Note: 5/13/13

So I decided to revisit this and rewrite whole parts of chapters and in the case of many chapters, whole chapters. I've been meaning to do this for a few weeks, but life happened. My awesome laptop died once again (it's yet to run for 6 months at a time without something breaking) but this time, it's out of warranty (story of my life). I did change 13's first dialogue a bit which made her seem less condescending (don't worry, she still would be later on) and threw in a few references. A lot of the edits I made was partially inspired by my feeling that this fic could be polished up a bit more and because some of my friends who are Whovians-in-training got kinda curious about 13 so I ran a few pick-up games of Adventures in Time and Space.

Unlike the "pick-up" games, I don't think I'll throw in the companion from that half because of the fact that my friend went out of her way to come up with the most brutal backstory ever and half because of the angst levels. And in my defense, most of the events that caused angst was her fault!

Also, just a point of interest: I know Moffat has entered a new doctor after 8. For the purposes of this fic, I'm ignoring that. Half because it would ruin some of this and half because I feel that it's demolishing a good amount of cannon with that move. (I mean c'mon! The song used for DT's farewell scene stuff was called "Vale Decem" or "Farewell Ten". And you're saying DT's Doctor isn't Ten?!*twitch* It's not going to make any sense explaining that to future whovians. "Why are they saying 'farewell Ten' to the Eleventh Doctor?" -rant over-)

I don't know how often I'll be able to update/rewrite chapters of this, but I will be doing that before I go back to writing the next new chapter (which I think I finished on the now-dead laptop...or nearly did finish).

Stay tuned!

~Gregora


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Not a Hero

Allie watched as the Doctor stared into the mirror with a frown. It was starting to worry her that the now-female alien had been standing there for minutes without doing anything other than staring, occasionally blinking, and obviously breathing. She didn't know if this was even normal. No, she was absolutely certain that having an alien crash into her attic and then turning into a girl in front of her was definitely not normal. She heard her oven beep, signaling that the food in the oven was done.

"Are you okay?" Allie asked as she turned off the oven and grabbed the oven mitts.

"Physically, yes. For a while at least," the Doctor stated, moving her face closer to the mirror with a slight hum.

"I was more worried about emotionally," Allie stated, slipping on the oven mitts and opening the oven.

"I'm afraid that the jury's still out a bit on that," the Doctor said before lifting some of her new, red hair before stating, "I'm finally ginger. I've always wanted to be ginger. But I never wanted to be a girl! This is just a dream. That's what this is. A really bad dream. A nightmare, really. A hallucination? If this is a virtual reality, the resolution is better than anything I know of. Anything could cause a nightmare of epic proportions. Must be sleeping off a really bad combination of drinks. Or worse things. Probably the worse things. Must be. Because this. Is. Not. Happening."

"Hate to burst your bubble, little miss negative," Allie said as she pulled out a pan with freshly baked meatloaf in it, "but that hole in my attic disagrees with your assessment about this not being reality."

"This just can't be real," the Doctor muttered with frustration in her voice, "it can't be happening. This just can't be my last life. My last body just can't be female. Really. I've been a bloke all my life and now, wham! No, this is just not real."

"Is denial a common side effect of the process?" Allie asked, taking off the oven mitts, "the meatloaf's gonna be done in a few minutes after it's had a chance to cool a bit."

"You live alone," the Doctor stated, turning around to look at Allie.

"Yeah," she replied, "ever since I was twenty, actually."

"But what about parents? Siblings? Aunts? Uncles? No one that young should live alone in such a big house. Five rooms. You have five rooms that are empty. What's with human girls and empty houses? Honestly? Do you enjoy feeling so alone or something?"

"If you can give me the chance to speak, I'd tell you!" Allie exclaimed.

"Sorry. I tend to be a bit manic while there's so much energy zapping around while everything's still adjusting," she apologized.

"I live alone because I have no one, okay?" Allie said, snapping at the Doctor.

"No family?"

"They either are dead or burned that bridge a long, long time ago," she said, "and I don't want to talk about it."

"I don't have a family, either," the alien said with a frown and a sigh.

"I didn't mean to bring up painful memories," Allie said defensively.

"It's okay," the Doctor said with a sad smile as Allie started to cut the meatloaf, "it comes with being the last of my kind."

"I'm sorry," Allie said quietly as she set some of the meatloaf on a plate.

"It wasn't your fault," she replied with the same sad smile as Allie handed her the plate and a fork, "thank you."

"Just remember. You owe me," Allie said lightly with a grin as the Doctor headed to the kitchen table.

The kitchen table had newspapers littered over it, most of them were from the last week and a half with only a corner of the roundish rectangular table clear of the newspapers. The Doctor sat down, curious about the newspapers, spotting some of the headlines. "Crater from collision found", "two more hikers missing", "local boy missing", "three found shot, dead – gang violence suspected", "two people found dead, drug overdose suspected".

"With headlines like that, I'd have thought we're in a big city. But we're not," the Doctor stated before taking a bite of the meatloaf and struggled to swallow the food.

"My meatloaf's never that bad," Allie said between bites as she sat on the kitchen counter, "it's an old family recipe. But yeah, no real big cities for miles. We're pretty much right in the middle of where three different towns will merge if they keep growing."

"When do you think that will be?" the Doctor asked, swallowing another bite of meatloaf.

"A decade or two. Sooner if the overall economy actually starts growing again," Allie stated lightly, "the local economy's pretty strong. But that's mostly because of so many ranches and farms nearby. Well, outside of Meridian Bar and Grill. Which also has a casino. It's pretty much where everyone within a three block radius works."

"Even you?"

"I've got two days off," Allie stated, "I'm one of two full-time bartenders there. And if you don't like it, why are you still eating it?"

"Don't want to seem rude. I'm tired of that old hat," the Doctor stated, "and I know it's got nothing to do with your cooking and everything to do with the fact that I've got a new mouth. It's going to take a while to get used to how everything tastes. I've already gotten used to how everything looks. I think. Can't be too sure. And I'm never going to get used to this body. Everything's wrong with it. Well, apart from the hair. I love the hair."

"So you're an actual alien," Allie stated flatly, staring at the Doctor from her perch on top of her kitchen counter.

"Again, yes. Still trying to cope? What good are you if you're going to be hung up on it?"

"Excuse me? I'm just surprised," Allie stated, "excited really. I mean, I grew up on Star Trek and stuff. Next thing I know, you're going to say that that box of yours is actually your space ship in disguise. Actually, it is, isn't it? How else would a box crash into my attic? I mean it makes no sense how a wooden box can remain intact when it collides with an equally wooden roof."

"Your brain's just now booting up, I see," the Doctor stated.

"Well, excuse me for being mostly asleep when you up and crashed into my attic in the middle of the night!" Allie exclaimed, "I'm nowhere near a morning person, especially after tonight!"

"Does it really count as 'tonight' when it's already a quarter past two?" the Doctor asked, staring at the clock on the wall which hung in the kitchen.

"Are you always this frustrating?"

"I've been told I was on several occasions, but they were all regenerations ago," the Doctor stated lightly before frowning and groaning, "and I'll never get to do that again. But is that really so bad when it hurts so much? Yes, it is because it means that I'd die for realy-reals," she said before looking off, pondering before shaking her head and frowning at herself, "Okay, never saying that again. Where did that even come from. 'Realy-reals'? What? Wait," she said before taking on a horrified look, "I'm speaking like a girl!"

"Newsflash: You're a chick," Allie stated before scoffing, "and you attack me for being stuck on you being an alien. You're quite hung up on being a girl."

"That's because-!" the Doctor started to say, building up a shouting tirade before stopping as she looked shocked and surprised, obviously deflating before mumbling to herself as she turned back to her plate of food and started to eat in silence.

"What is that? I don't think I caught what you said," Allie stated with a smug grin, knowing that she got the Doctor right where she wanted her to be.

The newly minted girl looked at Allie with wide eyes of being startled and alarmed, fork still in her mouth from shoveling the meatloaf into her mouth. She slowly removed the fork from her mouth and chewed just as slowly, obviously nervous and uneasy. Allie merely grinned wider, smug over the fact that she put the alien right in her place.

"I said," she said before mumbling again.

"Not good enough. C'mon. Spill it," Allie said, goading the uncomfortable alien into speaking.

"But I'd make a mess," the Doctor stated with a frown.

"What? No. Not that. Spill it. Spill the beans. Translation: talk. Tell the truth. Speak."

"Woof," the Doctor stated with a deadpan before chuckling to herself.

"For an alien, you seem to know a lot about Earth culture," Allie stated.

"Comes with seeing Earth as a second home of a sort," the Doctor stated, "I've saved Earth and humanity more times than you even know. Remember when the Cybermen and the Daleks fought each other in the streets before suddenly disappearing? That was me. Or the time when Earth was moved? I put the Earth back right where it should be. You're welcome. My being an alien shouldn't be that surprising."

"Just surprising that you're not trying to kill me or anything."

"Not this time around," the Doctor stated, "but that can happen immediately after regeneration. The mood swings, I mean. I strangled a friend once right after regenerating. I was rather out of it. Explains the outfit I wound up wearing during that time. Which reminds me, I need to get back to my TARDIS and get a proper outfit. And I really should get to fixing your roof and then I should be on my way."

"But what about the strange things you picked out of the newspaper?"

"When I was younger, I'd be all over trying to fix it and clean up the mess. But I'm old now. I've got other, more important things to worry about," the Doctor said, getting up from the table and setting the empty plate in the sink next to where Allie was sitting, "like self preservation. That's fairly important to me. Possibly more important than a planet full of apes. I knew when I started saving humanity that there'd come a time when you have to clean up your own planet and your own messes. I won't always be alive or around to help you all. If this all bothers you and makes you think it's all a conspiracy or that there's something wrong with it, deal with it yourself. This is hardly a time for me to remain involved now that I'm almost as mortal as you are."

"What does that mean?" Allie asked as she jumped down and set her plate on the counter.

"That means that if I stay out of trouble instead of recklessly charging in without a plan, weapons, or backup – or all three of them- I could live for about five hundred years or so, maybe even nine hundred years. Or more. I could have plenty of life left if I can just avoid all those nasty things that could up and kill me all because they don't like me," the Doctor stated before walking out of the kitchen, heading to the stairs.

"But you said that you've done so much for us! For Earth!" Allie exclaimed, following the Doctor.

"Used to. Consider me retired from the whole saving Earth bit. Well, not just 'saving Earth'. More like 'saving all of time and space'," the Doctor remarked.

"So your spaceship is also a time machine," Allie stated before asking, "so that's it? You up and changed your face and gender and who knows what else and because you can't do that, a bug's crawling up your rear and you don't want to keep saving people and stuff. All cause now the stakes are even higher than ever. Is that it?"

"If you're asking me that I'm scared of dying, who wouldn't be? Show me anyone who isn't scared of dying and I'll call them an idiot or a liar. Or an idiotic liar," the Doctor asked back as they got to the attic door.

"I'm not afraid of dying. It's gonna up and happen to me one day. So what?" Allie remarked, trying to keep up with the Doctor.

Allie ran into the Doctor as the alien suddenly stopped in front of her before said alien turned to face her.

"You're not afraid of death? Honestly?" the Doctor asked, fascinated by Allie.

"Never found it at all sane to fear the inevitable," Allie stated before adding off-handedly, "besides, I've lived through things which would make death look like a permanent vacation from life."

"What?" Allie asked suddenly as she suddenly felt a tight hug, "what's that for?"

"Honestly, because you sounded like you needed one," the Doctor said lightly with a smile as she let go, "besides, I'm pretty sure I needed a hug too. It's been a hug-worthy day so far. So, do you want to take a look at my TARDIS?"

"Of course I would. Not every day an alien invites me to poke around their time traveling spaceship," Allie stated before she could feel the Doctor grab her by the wrist and drag her to the blue box.

"Oh, you'd love this then," the Doctor stated excitedly as she snapped, "I've heard everything. Literally everything. Don't worry about surprising me. Just react to it as you will."

"Was that supposed to happen?" Allie asked as the doors failed to open.

"You're still rebuilding your interior, aren't you, old girl?" the Doctor stated, pulling out a key from a pocket and slid it into the lock and tried to turn the key.

"So much for leaving, huh?" Allie asked lightly, "or is this just a case of blue box blues?"

"You can stop laughing at me at my expense," the Doctor muttered, "I can't exactly go around looking like this."

Allie turned to the Doctor with a smile. Of everything she'd encountered as a guy: Daleks, Cybermen, death, Sontarans, and lots of other things she didn't even want to think about; all of that suddenly didn't scare her so much as Allie's grin. She suddenly didn't want to be involved anymore. She was still mentally cursing at the TARDIS for taking so long to rebuild her interior when Allie grabbed her wrist and started to drag her towards the door to the attic and then down the stairs.

Author's Note 3/3/13

So we get more of Allie's and the Doctor's forming friendship. Since 13 is going to be the last iteration, she's convinced that she's retiring from the hero business. Since she is still the Doctor, you know that once she sees more clues, she will involve herself regardless of her fear of death. Besides, Allie is so not going to let the Doctor run away from the chance to be a hero now that she knows that the alien had done so much to save everyone. So that's really what Allie is going to do a lot of times, try and awaken 13's inner hero.

Don't worry, I will make sure that Allie will get plenty of development and that she won't overstay her welcome on the TARDIS. In fact, once I get reviews to the point that most of them are begging for Allie to leave, I will start the bit where she does leave the TARDIS. And I already know how that will happen. No spoilers other than I'm plotting evil things.

Also, I am still working on And I Die and the associated stuff for it. Just hitting a writer's block and 13 is not leaving my head until I let her out. I've realized that I haven't really given much detail to Allie or her appearance. I've been more focused on the action and dialogue. I'll fix that in the next chapter.

~Gregora


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Utterly Ridiculous

"Do you honestly have any idea how ridiculous this is?" the Doctor asked, giving Allie a glare.

The Doctor stood in Allie's bedroom, wearing jeans, a t-shirt, a brown leather jacket, a Stetson and a pair of sneakers to complete the look. She knew that two regenerations ago, she would've been enjoying every minute of everything. She removed the Stetson with a frown before rubbing her face.

"That is what everyone thinks we wear in these parts," Allie said with an amused grin, "I personally prefer something less stereotypical."

"Says the girl in cat pajamas," the Doctor retorted.

"Were you like this before you regenerated?" Allie asked, her brown eyes narrowing as she glared.

"Like what?"

"You're being a bit snobby there," Allie stated.

"I am? That's new. Of course, I am in a new body. That could be what my personality would be like when it's all together. But I am known to look down at lesser species before."

"Lesser species?!" Allie snapped, her voice rising an octave, "I'm trying to help you after I saw you do the whole regeneration bit and you're being difficult and snobby. And before you think humanity is a lesser species, at least there's more than just me!"

Allie stepped back as the Doctor lowered her own glare. She could see the loneliness and pain in the alien's eyes. And the insurmountable guilt. Not to mention the amount of hatred in the alien's eyes, but the hate was turned inwards.

"You have no idea why I'm the last one!" the Doctor fumed, "it was because I had to make me the last Time Lord in existence! For the good of the universe! Do you even know how much it's torn at me since that happened? Do you?"

Allie didn't have anything she could say, so she preoccupied herself with playing with her black hair which hung loosely. She looked at her own dark hair, not looking at the angry redheaded alien. She didn't want to.

"No. I don't," Allie said after a few long moments of trying to avert her attention.

"I don't expect you to," the Doctor said quietly before saying, "these clothes just won't do. It's too stereotypical based on location. And I'm not going to be caught wearing a dress or a skirt."

"I wasn't even thinking about dresses or skirts," Allie stated defensively before grinning, "but now I am."

"Hush. I think I got a better idea," the Doctor stated, jumping up to look through Allie's closet, "I swore…yes! Perfect!"

The Doctor pulled out a sweater vest which was made of a purple plaid fabric and grinned at Allie. She draped it over her front as she looked at herself in the mirror, grinning even wider. Removing the hanger from the garment, she draped the vest over her arm as she gave Allie a grin.

"Doctor, that thing's hideous!" Allie exclaimed.

"Which explains why this is at the very back of your closet," she stated with a grin, "and it's perfect. It'd go well with my hair."

The Doctor stopped rummaging through the closet as if she was hit by a shock.

"Doctor?" Allie asked, looking at the startled alien.

"I'm thinking like a girl! This is something that has never happened before and I haven't made up my mind over whether I like it or not."

"Doctor, how many times am I going to have to bash the painful truth into your thick skull?" Allie asked lightly.

"I honestly have no idea. I'm taking this fairly badly, aren't I?"

"Well, if you weren't lying about being over a thousand years old and having spent all that time, your entire life up until now as a guy, I guess it can't be helped. I mean, if it was me, I'd be rather rattled," Allie admitted before asking, "are you saying that you never chose your outfit in regard to what you looked like?"

"I usually grabbed whatever suited my fancy without regard of how it looked on me. I usually gravitated towards suits of some kind," the Doctor stated with a frown before pulling out a pastel blue blouse, "perfect. Will go good with the vest and will take away how loud it is. Ooooh! Are those skinny jeans?"

"You've been a chick for only two hours and here you are, squeeing over skinny jeans. Wait! When did I ever…Oh. Right. High School," Allie said, temporarily forgot that she still never gotten around to evicting the clothes she wore almost a decade ago and never again from her closet, "if you can fit into them, you can keep them."

"You're awesome!" the alien exclaimed, hugging Allie in happiness before stripping down to the undergarments that Allie had loaned her before slipping on the skinny jeans, the blouse and the sweater vest.

"So what do you think?" the Doctor asked with a grin, turning in front of Allie before looking at her reflection.

"Missing something. I can feel it. A jacket. Yes! That's it! A third layer!" with that, the Doctor dived back into Allie's closet, only to emerge from the closet with a dark green canvas jacket and a scarf of normal lengths with stripes of a bright green and a darker green.

"Is that a bit much to be borrowing from me?" Allie asked.

"Don't worry, you'll get the clothes back later," the Doctor stated with a smile, "I feel a lot better now that I'm wearing something that isn't my previous self's clothes. Is it just me or is it brighter now than it was before…when we walked in here?"

"That's because it's almost five in the morning and it's starting to get bright outside. Keen powers of observation there, Captain Obvious," Allie stated, saying the last bit with sarcasm before fighting a yawn.

"Right. I woke you up in the middle of the night," the alien recalled before looking apologetic and rushed, "you must be exhausted! I'm so sorry! I'll let you sleep now!"

"Not so fast, buddy," Allie stated with a frown, "it's far too late now for me to go to sleep. I'll just take a nap later today. Besides, who knows what else could go wrong between now and when I'd wake up."

"I should be fine as long as I don't exert myself too much," the Doctor stated, "which I won't do since I'm just going to read those newspaper articles and try to figure out how all of those things are connected."

"So says the alien who was about to leave the minute she had my roof repaired," Allie muttered with a frown.

"Just that I can't leave yet, so why not research the situation thoroughly before I make any judgment?"

"Just that this change in attitude is a bit quick," Allie said, watching the alien.

"Moods tend to fluctuate a bit," the Doctor admitted, "plus I'm dealing with a sudden increase in hormonal levels."

"If you think it's bad, wait for three weeks," Allie said with a grin of near-malice.

The Doctor paled as she looked at Allie in terror and panic, "I can't do this! I can't be a girl! I don't want to deal with that! I'm gonna die!"

"So I take it your species gets that time of the month?" Allie asked.

"Yes. I can tell you that from experience. It doesn't help that Time Ladies are more moody and more prone to…" the Doctor stated before muttering, "well, my wives were."

"Wives?" Allie asked.

"They're all dead," the Doctor stated quietly, "and I'm mostly talking about the ones who were Time Ladies or partially… yeah."

"They scared you?"

"I learned to hide. And to have sweets on me. And to think it's going to happen to me…"

"Don't worry," Allie said, putting a hand on the alien's shoulder, "we'll have ice cream and watch movies while fighting over hot water bottles and the one heating pad I own."

"Thanks," the Doctor said with a smile, visibly calming down.

"Why are you so interested in getting involved after the big ol argument we had anyways?" Allie asked.

"Several reasons," the Doctor said, pulling away before heading downstairs with the intention to get to the kitchen.

"Which are…?" Allie prompted, following the alien back down the stairs.

"Do you really want to know? Why do you even want to know?" the Doctor asked, rounding to face Allie.

"Yes and because it's almost suspicious of you."

"Okay fine. Because even if I were to ignore my usual habit and not even offer you the chance to come traveling with me, I would worry that you'd get all mixed up in whatever's happening. And because you convinced me to face my fear of dying this once. And because you reminded me that there's more than just my one life at stake, even if my life's more important to me."

"So you travel with humans often?" Allie asked as the Doctor turned around and headed to the kitchen table.

"Quite often. Especially the ones who are the first face my eyes ever see," the Doctor stated with a frown.

"That means something?" Allie asked.

"It means that your face is now seared onto my hearts," the Doctor said, her voice tinged with sadness as she sat down.

"Right. Weird alien biology," Allie muttered, "so that means that I mean something to you."

"You were there as every cell within my body was altered and turned into something new. What I went through isn't that unlike being born. It's probably where you humans got the idea of the phoenix," the Doctor stated, her tone not unlike the one she'd use when talking about the weather as she skimmed over the various newspapers.

"So I'm imprinted onto your brain. I don't know how exactly to feel about it," Allie stated.

"This sounds unusual," the Doctor stated with a frown, "and I don't like it."

"What?"

"It sounds like there are a lot of details being covered up. Important details that I need. I'm going to need to talk to the coroner," the Doctor stated, "a bloke by the name of Eli Dimms."

"Yes because turning up on some guy's doorstep asking about his work is a good idea," Allie muttered.

"Or we can go to the morgue," the Doctor said before asking, "how far are we from the crater?"

"Not too far," Allie stated.

"Where were you the night of the fireball?" the Doctor asked, turning serious.

"I saw it from my bedroom balcony," she stated, "I didn't go looking for it until the next morning. It's just a hole in the ground."

"I think I'm going to have to borrow shoes from you," the Doctor stated, "got any spare hiking boots in my size?"

"You're going to have to deal with using my dad's old hiking boots," Allie stated as she turned towards the stairs, "I'm going to need to get dressed first. It should be bright enough out there to go. Swear that you don't go off without me."

"Why is it that you've gotten the idea that you're my babysitter?"

"Because someone needs to be," Allie remarked.

"So little faith. Fine. I promise that I'll wait for you. Now, go get ready before I decide to go off on my own," the Doctor said with a frown, knowing that she was going to wait anyways because Allie was her guide anyways.

Author's Note 3/3/13

Three chapters in one day! Yikes! And even more awesome is the fact that this is my first Doctor Who story which got a review! Thanks Kid Revenger for pointing things out and giving me that much-needed boost. I've got this whole adventure planned out.

A bit here which may get me flamed, yes I know that in the novels, Time Tots are loomed. Personally, I think while that does happen in Time Lord society, they still have the means to have children since there is an evolutionary necessity. I just don't think that they evolved to no longer reproduce, especially since if they do use the looms, they no longer actually evolve and the means to reproduce would still remain intact. Just stating my defense of stuff I wrote.

Also, as a point to make, this will get a bit dark as 13 goes through the different stages of dealing with her impending death. Right now, having an adventure is only a distraction. Also, as a point of my curiosity, I'm rather curious what you guys think is going on. Empty crater, people are mysteriously disappearing or being killed, and it rather seems like some people have lost their sanity with how many people are getting shot. And yes, lots of details are being withheld from the public, but who could be behind that and why would they withhold details? Conspiracies for the win!

~Gregora


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

The Crater

"So this is it?" the Doctor asked as they reached a clearing which was almost completely torn up, the result of some sort of collision.

"Yep," Allie said, carrying her shotgun so that it was pointed downward, but prepared to shoot at a moment's notice.

The Doctor walked to the edge of the crater before sliding down the edge on her feet. She whipped out her Sonic Screwdriver to scan the area before her frown deepened. As Allie approached the edge of the crater, she could spot the redheaded alien crouch down and grabbed a handful of the dirt and sift through it with her hand before sniffing her hand and giving it a lick.

"Were you ever this gross before?" Allie asked.

"Just had to be certain my nose wasn't playing tricks on me," the Doctor said with a frown, "we should hurry away from this place as fast as we can.

"And why is that?" Allie asked as the Doctor ran up the side of the crater.

"Because I don't like what I found out," she stated, "a part of me should be happy but, to tell the truth, none of me is. In fact, all of me is rather terrified and I think the only way I could be the slightest bit more comfortable is if I'm holding your shotgun."

The Doctor held out her hand, looking at Allie. She hated how her hands were shaking and she was mildly curious if it was entirely because of what she discovered or if it was a combination of her terror mixed with the fact that she was still in the middle of her regeneration cycle. She knew she would be capable of withstanding just about everything for the next ten or so hours, but she knew that Allie wouldn't let her run off. She wondered if Allie would even just hand over her gun as she received a rather pointed look from the human.

"Tell me what's going on first," Allie stated, frowning at her.

"Okay, while we're walking," she said, giving into the human girl's demands as the two walked back into the treeline.

"It wasn't space debris that crashed there," she stated, "well, I guess it kinda was, but it wasn't a rock. I wish it was. Or even a figment of the Nestene Conscious. But no, nothing like that. My Sonic Screwdriver managed to detect a faint amount of Artron energy. While I was scanning, I came across a familiar scent and one I both wanted to smell again and wished it never would. By picking up a handful of the soil, I managed to find small shards of a specific material, which I further checked by licking my hand afterwards."

"Do you always dodge the details?" Allie asked as they reached a small paved road.

"You wouldn't understand what I'd be saying otherwise," the Doctor stated lightly.

"Try me," Allie almost growled at her.

"Okay, Artron energy is a specific type of energy that is built up through traveling by a very specific means. The scent I detected is the scent of multiple Time Lords. The shards I saw were shards of a plasmic shell."

"Time Lords? You mean that you're not the last of your people now?" Allie asked, "Isn't that a good thing?"

"No," the Doctor stated, dead serious, "they were consumed by war. The last time I saw my people, I barely survived the encounter. Wound up regenerating anyways to save a human's life. So no, this is so very, very bad. Who knows what they're up to. Especially in such a sparsely populated area. They could do who knows what out here and no one could catch them because we're far from a major population center."

"So what will you do when you catch them?" Allie asked as a black van crested the hill behind them and slowed as it passed them and stopped.

The doors to the van opened, revealing that only one man was in the van. He had a rather distinctive chin, thick brown hair and was wearing a grin, a gray longcoat and rather plain clothing.

"And what are two beautiful women doing walking down a country road all alone?" the man asked, his demeanor friendly enough before saying, "Name's—"

"You can stop it you know, Captain Harkness," the Doctor stated, somewhere between friendly and annoyed.

"Doctor?" the man asked, eyebrows rising as he looked up and down her, "I can't say I don't like this new regeneration."

"Two dates and then we'll see," the Doctor said, half teasing half joking.

"That's even more work than the last time I asked!" Jack exclaimed, laughing before approaching the redheaded Time Lord.

"Still the same old Jack," the Doctor said fondly as she was hugged tightly by Jack.

"Friend of yours?" Allie asked the Doctor as Jack let go of the Doctor.

"Captain Jack Harkness," Jack said, taking Allie's right hand in both of his, "and who are you?"

"Allie. And flattered," Allie said lightly, pulling her hand free from the man's grasp.

"Met him back in my ninth regeneration," the Doctor said, pointing her thumb at the man, "since then he's either stalking me or our paths just happen to cross. Still trying to determine which it is this time, but seeing as how I haven't lost any more hands on this planet, I doubt you're stalking me."

"There's been a massive influx of Artron energy in the local area since the fireball. Torchwood's been keeping a watch on the local area. I hoped that the most recent spike was you," Jack stated, "I figured it was when I saw you wave your screwdriver around in the middle of the crater."

"So you followed and decided to offer us a ride on the off-chance that she wasn't," Allie stated.

"Yep," Jack answered with a grin.

"And if we weren't who you thought we were, you were probably hoping to get lucky," the Doctor added.

"I'm not that bad," Jack stated.

"I seem to recall an incident on Hiraxis Prime," the Doctor said with a grin.

"That was a long time ago!" Jack exclaimed defensively.

"Like that makes any difference?" the Doctor asked before Jack started to laugh.

"So which number is this one?" Jack asked.

"Thirteen," the Doctor said, getting Jack to lose his mirth.

"Thirteen? That's—"

"I know. Still trying to come to terms about it. And here I thought being a girl for once is going to be the hardest part about this," the Doctor said.

"I could help," Jack stated.

"That was awfully straightforward for you, Captain Jack Harkness," the Doctor stated with a grin before frowning, "I think we'll take you up on your offer for a lift as long as you also get me every piece of information you have."

"This is like old times again, isn't it?" Jack asked as he and the rest of them headed towards the van.

"So I take it he's always this much of a charmer?" Allie asked.

"Some people never change. I already have seen the day he will," the Doctor said quietly, hoping that Jack didn't pick up the last bit.

Author's Note 3/5/13

So it's been two days. I won't be doing much work on this for about a week because I have a major project due next Tuesday. And since I won't have much in the way of finals during Finals Week (in two weeks), I would be able to write like mad. At least until April because that's when Camp NaNoWriMo happens (and my birthday). I also have writing to do for a video series I'm doing. It doesn't help that I'm still recovering from crud (my throat was inundated by a tsunami of mucus which is now turning into a trickle).

I decided to throw in Jack during this adventure because I can and because no one knows when exactly in his timeline that he has that encounter with the Headless Monks. This is before that event in Jack's point of view but obviously not from the Doctor's.

For 13, I'm trying to write her as being a bit grim. Oh, she's doing all she can to hide the fact that she's run out of respawns and that besides the 15 hour regeneration cycle, if she gets killed or wounded badly, she's screwed. I just hope that I'm succeeding at writing a grim character since mine are either hyperactive balls of sunshine or complete emos who just want to curl up into a ball and die. I've had a character who was both. At the same time. It was scary.

I don't know when I'll come out with the next chapter, but it will happen. I've got this whole adventure planned out on top of the next one and a half (which will be fun). Oh and yes, Allie is not going to let the poor Doctor ever keep her out of the loop, even more so when said Doctor is acting all scared.

But for now, see ya!

~Gregora


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

There's Something Wrong…

"Welcome to Torchwood's home away from home," Jack stated, arms raised as he motioned at everything around them.

Allie looked around at the cramped hotel room with a look of curiosity, looking at the various pieces of both Earth and alien technology. The Doctor, however, looked at everything in the room which was technological in nature with a look which was somewhere between boredom and distain, a frown creasing.

"You can't still be sore about that," Jack stated, sounding a bit put-out.

"I tend to be sore when people fail to listen to the expert in the room and caused a situation which almost led to the end of all life," she stated with a frown, "it doesn't help that it was created with the intention of getting rid of me."

"Torchwood's no longer hostile towards you, Doctor," Jack stated.

"I know," she said quietly, "and I like the idea that you'll turn it into something different for the future generations. I just hope that it becomes something that will make you proud, Captain. Now, more importantly," she said, clapping her hands together, clasping them and turning to Jack, "were you behind the whole withholding information from the public? It was clear that there was more to it than what appeared in the newspaper and seeing as how everything seems connected with the crater and yourself, I'm assuming that you had a hand or two or more in this situation."

"Guilty as charged," Jack stated.

"But aren't you worried that the details you're keeping secret might travel by way of rumors?" Allie asked, turning from the computer screen to look at Jack.

"Pretty sharp, but yes, that was a worry until I gave those people a dose of a little something called retcon. It's a compound which will induce amnesia, burying memories based on the amount they are given. Don't worry, I only gave them enough to cause them to forget what they found out," Jack stated.

"So what did the examiners find?" the Doctor asked, trying hard not to look too disapproving.

"Take a look at this," Jack stated, grabbing a file from a table and handing it to the Doctor.

"Let's see what you've been hiding," the Doctor stated in a small voice as she opened the file, looking at the first paper in the stack within the file.

The file was the autopsy report, which caused the Doctor's eyebrows to raise an inch as she read the report, taking in the details as quickly as she could.

"This can't be right," she stated with a frown.

"What is?" Allie asked, moving to stand next to the Doctor to look over the alien's shoulder, "so the victim had some sort of extra organ near their heart."

"Captain, by any chance do you have a bioscanner?" the Doctor asked.

"Right here," Jack stated, taking a device out of his pocket and showing it to the Doctor.

"I want you to use it to me to show Allie here what exactly the report's findings mean," the Doctor stated.

Without a word, Jack stepped away from the Doctor, facing her as he powered the device and pointed the device at the Doctor. Allie walked to look at the screen of the device and let out a gasp as she saw that the device showed that the Doctor had two hearts.

"You… you have two hearts!" Allie exclaimed.

"I said I was an alien. You were even there when I regenerated," the Doctor stated with a bemused smile as Jack lowered the device.

"That explains the energy that the scanner was picking up," Jack stated, "you're still in the middle of your regeneration cycle, aren't you?"

"I wouldn't be all gung-ho if I wasn't," the Doctor said, "I want to get this whole mess cleaned up before my regeneration cycle ends and any injuries I'd get are permanent."

"When was it that you regenerated?" Jack asked.

"What are you talking about?" Allie asked.

"After I regenerate, it takes fifteen hours for my body to settle and gel together. During that time, I could recover from incredible injuries. I had my right hand cut off while I was in my regeneration cycle once. I grew it back," the Doctor said, some level of fondness about the memories sneaking into her voice as she smiled, "I had a rather nice smile back then. Right."

"It was around twelve thirty this morning," Allie stated with a frown.

"So you're about ten hours in," Jack stated.

"I know. I have five hours left of my regeneration cycle," the Doctor said before turning back to the file, "so the log made a mention that one of the victims was growing a second heart. That can't be good. I hope that's all they were doing. Hello. This says that an unidentified compound was found in the victim's bloodstream."

"We had the compound analyzed and we couldn't make sense out of it," Jack stated, "that would be the packet after all of the information from the autopsy."

The Doctor flipped to the second packet of papers, seemingly scanning the papers faster than a human could, turning paler by the page she read through. She closed the file and looked at Jack with a mix of panic, fear, and worry.

"This can't be good if it's got you worried," Jack stated.

"I assume you ran the analyses three times over, ran all sorts of tests on the equipment before testing the compound a fourth time," the Doctor said.

"Pretty much."

"I need a sample of the compound and the victim's blood. I want to run my own analyses using my equipment on the TARDIS," the Doctor said.

"I can get you a vial of each," Jack said as he went to a padded case and pulled out two vials- one containing a pale green powder and the other containing blood, "but the question is, do you have any clue what's happening to those people?"

"I have several clues," the Doctor said as Jack held the vials to her and she grabbed them.

"Do you expect me to tell you?" the Doctor asked as Jack hadn't yet let go of the vials.

"Yes," Jack stated.

"You wouldn't understand," the Doctor said.

"Remember what I've been through… what we've been through," Jack stated, letting go of the vials, "the Year That Never Was, the Dalek Crucible, towing Earth back from the Medusa Cascade using the TARDIS. Tell me what you think is going on. Please."

"Oh, alright," the Doctor stated, deflated before saying as she pocketed the vials, "from every indication, the victims seem to be in the middle of a metamorphosis when they died, possibly because they couldn't withstand the tsunami of changes or due to a flaw within the process. I'm leaning towards the latter because Time Lords all begin as normal Gallifreyans, which, bar the lack of common ancestry, are actually more similar to humans than you'd think, well, apart from the obvious alien blood types and such. What turns Gallifreyans into Time Lords is not just the exposure to the Time Vortex by way of the Untempered Schism but also by being given that last push towards being a Time Lord. The Rassilon Imprimatur, which is given to every graduate from the Time Lord Academy. What's going on is someone's trying to apply the same amount of changes from those two sources into one application. Think of it as an upgrade patch. But seeing the massive amount of changes, it would take a lot of time and exposure to the substance. Or a very, very large dose."

"What does that mean, though?" Allie asked.

"Someone's turning ordinary humans into Time Lords," Jack stated.

"Seems that way. I want to check out my hypothesis by running the analyses using more advanced equipment which can be found in the TARDIS," the Doctor stated before grinning, "the Doctor is in!"

"But the last time you tried to get into the TARDIS, you were saying that she was rebuilding," Allie stated.

"Yes," the Doctor said, pulling out a key from another pocket, showing that the key was glowing with a gentle, golden light, "this means that she's ready."

"But what are you going to do if you're right?" Jack asked.

"About the results?" the Doctor asked, getting a nod from Jack, "then I'll have to find out what their rationale is by way of the equine's mouth."

"And how do you propose that?" Jack asked.

"By pulling their TARDIS to mine the moment they enter the time vortex," the Doctor said, "basically, turning my TARDIS into a magnet that will attract their TARDIS. Then I can personally ask them exactly what they think they're pulling."

"I want to be there when you do that," Jack stated.

"I'm done using other people as weapons," the Doctor stated with a frown, "I learned it doesn't matter if I'm the one holding the gun or if, through my unwillingness, caused someone else to hold a gun in my defense, the outcome is one and the same, if not worse. I've learned to swallow my pride and use weapons when it's necessary to do so. I do my own fighting now, Captain. However, I won't turn down a lift to Allie's house."

Author's Note 3/6/13

I can't help it. I just had to write a chapter today. Especially with the uncertainty if doing the project by myself will cause not just me to fail the class in question. If I have to fail because of a mix of being sick and having mobility issues on top of a one-way lack of communication (how could I have emailed her while I was unconscious because my mom gave me "cough syrup" first thing in the morning without telling me that it was actually NyQuil?), I'm not going to drag my "partner" down with me. She told me she couldn't afford to take the class again (but I'm actually constrained by an education plan which may or may not be completely torn up by a failed grade in the class). Yeah, I really needed to escape from the stress and the feeling that no matter what I do at this point, I'm getting an F.

So, about this chapter… yeah, it's just exposition. It happens every so often. I just hope that I didn't screw up the cannon too much (I'm still watching some of the Classic Who. Netflix doesn't have all of the episodes so it's kinda hard). Things are set to pick up if I go according to plan (I even have the dialogue of the end of this little adventure planned out and it's gotten me to actually giggle. Spoilers.). If I write the next chapter or two right, 13 might just prove to be just as intimidating as any of the previous Doctors when she faces those behind the whole situation. There's a lot to look forward to in the next three or so chapters.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Let's Go Poke at it With a Stick

The Doctor grinned to herself as she opened the attic door, seeing a beam of light hit the blue box which rested on the floor. The light came from the hole directly above the blue box, making it almost shine. It always looked best right after rebuilding itself, when the paint looks almost fresh and untarnished by any adventures. Fresh and new, not unlike how she, herself currently felt. Pieces from the ceiling littered the area as she approached the blue wooden box she knew was just the outer shell of the craft which was more home than ship and more of a companion than anyone else she had ever pulled along. She walked towards the TARDIS with purpose and excitement in each step as curiosity and excitement bubbled within her.

She stopped at the doors, looking at the paneling with a smile playing on her lips. She wanted to take in all of the details. The sign was backlit, just as it had been for a while, this time the words "pull to open" was even bigger than before. She knew why, had known why ever since the time when her TARDIS was temporarily shunted into a human body. She half wished that she could still communicate with the TARDIS the same way and half glad that she couldn't, knowing that the nagging would never, ever end. She traced her fingers on the detail work of the doors, looking up at the pristine backlit sign above the doors which said "Police public call box".

"Should I let you have your private time with your ship?" Allie asked, sarcasm dripping from her words, causing the Doctor to jump, having forgotten that Allie had been following along.

"I… erm… forgot you were here," the Doctor stated, almost blushing.

"Should've known," Allie stated, still in sarcasm mode, "you're like a guy and his car. Which shouldn't surprise me seeing as how you were a guy when we met."

"Give me a break," the Doctor muttered with a frown as she pulled the key from her jacket pocket, "you seem to love sarcasm."

"Best way to deal with the unusual and fantastic, including yourself," Allie stated.

"That's a relief," the Doctor said, turning to give Allie a smirk, "that means that one day, you might actually stop throwing sarcasm at me."

"Why's that?"

"Because one day, you'll be used to me," the Doctor said before frowning, "or worse. But that's a thought for another day."

The Doctor then turned back to the door, sliding the key into the lock, "because this is a better day. Welcome to the TARDIS."

The Doctor shoved both doors open, revealing a large expanse of a room, far much larger than it should be, considering the size of the blue box. From the doors, the floor sloped upward to a dais where the console stood. The console appeared to slope up from the floor, the edges rounded without sharp angles as faintly blue-tinted lights from the ceiling brightly lit the room. The walls seemed to be covered by clear pipes which carried blue liquid down to the area underneath the console, also casting light, but with more of a blue color. The areas of the wall which the pipes of liquid didn't cover were covered with screens or windows. The portions of the wall that weren't covered up echoed the ceiling, which appeared to be covered in coral. The floor itself appeared to be made of one solid, unending expanse of polished rock.

"Oh you lovely thing, you! Pulled out all the stops, didn't you, old girl?" the Doctor asked in wonderment as she slowly walked into the room, almost crooning to her ship, "you outdone yourself, old girl. You just keep getting more and more beautiful."

A small sound from the area of the doors caused the Doctor to spin around to see Allie. Allie's eyes looked like they were about to pop out from her face as her light tan looked to take on a near-deathly pallor. The Doctor came to the conclusion that the poor girl's mind was blown even before she noted that if her jaw could drop more, it would have not just become dislocated, but it would be laying on the nicely polished floor.

"So what do you think?" the Doctor asked with a wide grin, "I know what you're going to say. Don't worry, I've heard it before."

"I don't believe this!" Allie exclaimed, "I can't believe that I'm staring right into a pocket dimension!"

"But almost everyone says that one phrase!" the Doctor exclaimed with a frown.

"Which phrase?"

"That she's bigger on the inside," the Doctor stated before spinning around to look at the room, noticing that not all of the room met all of the walls, allowing anyone to look down to the floor below as the floor they were on served as a balcony for the lower level.

"I'm going to take a look at the lower level," the Doctor said.

"What about the analyses?" Allie asked, "and pulling the other TARDISes to this one. Which I hope you don't do in my attic."

"Are you always like this?" the Doctor asked.

"Like what?"

"Ruining all the fun," the Doctor said with a frown and a sigh, "here we are, standing in the middle of the TARDIS' newest desktop theme and there's so much to see and you're trying to get me to focus on other things. Things which could end in my permanent death."

"Which you said you could recover from if you're still in the middle of your regeneration cycle. Which will end…" Allie said, trailing off to pull out her cell phone, "in five hours. I doubt the TARDIS will change her desktop theme in that time."

"Unless I make her change it," the Doctor stated before letting out a sigh, "you really love ruining the mood."

"And you really love acting like an excitable child, don't you?" Allie asked.

"Right. The medical bay is in this direction unless the TARDIS decided to move it on me," the Doctor said, leading the way into a corridor.

"How long have you been traveling? You were saying that you save the universe a lot," Allie asked as she followed the Doctor through the corridors.

"Most of my life," the Doctor said quietly, "long before I lost my home world. I guess, in a way of thinking, I lost it when I gained the TARDIS. I barely ever returned to it before it was destroyed."

"It must have been beautiful," Allie stated.

"There are no words to describe how beautiful it was," the Doctor said, her tone turning sad and full of regret, "since you're a country girl, you'd have loved it."

"How does my being a country girl have mattered?"

"Because most of Gallifrey was wilderness," the Doctor said.

"Mind if I asked why you left?" Allie asked as they reached a door.

"Boredom. I felt that there was more to see of the universe than just one single world," the Doctor said with a smile as she turned to look at Allie, her eyes showing just how old she was, "I wanted to see everything. Go everywhere. And I did."

"And so will I," Allie stated as she followed the Doctor into the lab.

"Excuse me?" the Doctor asked, turning to look at Allie with a stern frown.

"I'm going with you. I know you're gonna up and take off once you clean up this mess and the mess you and your ship made in my attic. And when you leave, you're taking me with you," Allie stated, almost stomping her right foot as she crossed her arms in front of her, giving the Doctor a serious glance.

"Nope," the Doctor stated lightly, going to a table with various pieces of equipment Allie couldn't recognize as she started to babble quickly in an excited tone as she focused on what she was doing, "I'm done dragging people down with me. Turning over a new leaf. I'm so tired of saving the universe and ruining random lives with my presence in said lives that I'm retired from the whole game. Done. Once I get done cleaning up all the messes here, I'm going to the emerald beaches of Thele where I can actually relax for a time. And then I'm going to Viabe where they have literal soda geysers due to the random occurrence of both water and carbon dioxide that gets mixed around due to geological activity. Then boom! Sparkling water emerges from a geyser!"

"Sounds amazing," Allie said with a wide grin, "I can't wait to go to those places."

"I am absolutely not taking you with me," the Doctor stated with a frown, not looking at Allie as she poured the blood sample into the device she was working at, "it's like asking for things to go wrong. Things that I'd have to fix."

"Why would you have to fix things?" Allie asked.

"Because old habits are a pain to get rid of," the Doctor said, "I got into the habit of saving people and the universe back when I chose my title. Back when my title meant more than it does now."

"What do you mean by that?" Allie asked with a frown.

"I became too well-known by the universe. Especially by my enemies," she stated with a frown, "there was a time when all I had to do was mention who I was and whole armies would turn tail and run in terror. My enemies became so fearful of me, they gave me nicknames because they couldn't bear to call me by my title. I grew so big that I had to fall. And I did. Badly. So I allowed everyone to believe I permanently died and my enemies forgot about me. It got so bad that many cultures changed their definition of 'Doctor'. I'm hardly the one who makes everything better anymore."

"You've gone through hell," Allie stated, her voice small and quiet.

"More than once," the Doctor agreed, "I deserve retirement. I'm burned out from all the excitement."

"Then why was it that you seemed all giddy at the crater?" Allie asked, her tone amused as she grinned, "I think you still enjoy it. The whole being faced with a situation being caused by a great big unknown and making things better than they were when you arrived."

"It's none of your business if I enjoy anything," the Doctor stated, her tone almost arctic.

"You're addicted to helping people," Allie stated, taking almost manic glee out of the whole conversation, "and you don't want to admit it."

"If I really wanted to, I could leave now. There's nothing at all that's keeping me here," the Doctor stated.

"You're so in denial, it's almost cute."

"You can just shut up now," the Doctor snapped, "I'm trying to concentrate."

"Are you sure you shouldn't be in a swimsuit? Because you may as well be swimming in denial!" Allie announced with a grin.

"No," the Doctor said with a frown, "only I should be the one to say bad puns."

"Too bad," Allie said with a grin as the Doctor worked furiously.

Allie watched the Doctor, remaining silent as the alien operated devices she'd never seen before. Silence stretched on as the Doctor seemed to be in her element, her hands almost flying over the devices, her brow furrowed in concentration. She felt like she was working hard just by watching the Doctor work. Almost out of nowhere, she heard a long string of a language she had never heard before, which she assumed was the Doctor's original language. At first, it was just a mutter from the Doctor before she started to let out more of the alien language, her volume rising as her expression went from surprise to shock and then finally to anger as she broke away from the device as the alien's body shook in rage before convulsing as energy radiated from her mouth.

"Doctor!" Allie called out, catching the alien as the mentioned alien sunk to her knees.

"I'm pushing myself," the Doctor muttered, sounding almost weak, "I'm still cooking. I need to rest, but I can't rest until this is dealt with."

"What will happen if you push yourself?" Allie asked.

"Anything from synaptic implosion to death. Don't worry, if everything works out, I won't push myself much further."

"Do your plans ever work out?"

"I don't know. It hasn't been tested. New regeneration, new rules," the Doctor said with a grin as she jumped up from her crouch to stand, "but I get the feeling that we'll know shortly. I think it's high time we should poke at the situation with a stick."

With that, the Doctor briskly walked back to the console room with Allie following, the human girl watching the alien cautiously in case she convulsed again. Once in the console room, the Doctor rubbed her hands together with a manic grin, eyeing the console before looking toward Allie.

"This is going to be very tricky," the alien told the human, "micro-jumps tend to be one of the hardest maneuvers to do in a TARDIS under the best of conditions."

"What are micro-jumps and what are the best of conditions?" Allie asked.

"Micro-jumps are typically a small hop in time and space, usually within a year and kilometer from the starting location. Best of conditions typically mean six pilots who've all passed their driving tests," the Doctor said, saying the last bit with a huge grin.

"And I somehow get the feeling that this is quite the distance from that seeing as how there's only one of you," Allie said with a frown.

"And I never passed my driving test," the Doctor said before laughing almost manically, "are you sure you want to travel with me?"

"Absolutely," Allie said seriously before laughing, "you're impossible!"

"Aren't I just?" the Doctor asked, still grinning and chuckling as she started to pull levers, push buttons, and flip switches in a seemingly random way as the liquid in the partially-full glass cylinder started to form a vortex as the TARDIS emitted a sound which Allie recognized, a mechanical grinding and groaning sound, "Andale!"

Allie couldn't help but to laugh at the Doctor's expression of utter glee, knowing that she was doing what she enjoyed. She could tell that the Doctor was on cloud nine because she looked every bit the grinning loon as she almost pranced around the console. At least, at first. The TARDIS started to shake more, causing her to grab onto the railing as the Doctor's expression and demeanor fell.

"Oh, no you don't!" the Doctor exclaimed angrily, grabbing a rubber mallet and giving the console a few solid whacks before the shaking and the sound subsided as the translucent blue liquid in the glass cylinder in the middle of the console settled.

The Doctor prowled to a section of the console and pressed a few buttons before the screen on the far wall came to life, showing the inside of a warehouse.

"What?" the Doctor piped up, looking mildly confused.

A person came into view, wearing clothing Allie didn't recognize. The person turned out to be a man who was wearing robes of some kind which were a deep shade of red with orange trim and an orange cap of some kind and some sort of ornate thing which settled on the man's shoulders and the area of the thing behind the man's head to be some sort of circular shape and some kind of engraving was etched in areas of the shoulder part of the object.

"What?" the Doctor asked, her voice rising in pitch, confusion etched deeper into her face.

"Please come out, fellow Time Lord," the man said politely, "I don't know who you are quite yet, but it is nice to know that there are other who escaped the war."

"What?" the Doctor asked a third time, this time her voice was low.

"Maybe you should meet with him," Allie said with a smile, "you might be able to convince him."

"I don't know," the Doctor said, her voice quiet as she appeared to be in shock before muttering, "Prydon. He's a member of the Prydon Chapterhouse."

"What?" Allie asked.

"Every member of Time Lord society is a member of one of six chapterhouses. He's from the Prydon chapterhouse, one known for producing very devious Time Lords and a large amounts of renegades," the Doctor recounted with bemusement, "can't take your eyes off a Prydonian unless you want to invite trouble. Or so they say."

"Explains everything," Allie stated with a grin.

"What?" the Doctor asked in surprise, turning to look at Allie before laughing, "you're a sharp one. You might actually cut me one day if I'm not careful."

The Doctor turned off the screen and walked to the door before spinning around, turning serious for a moment as she looked straight at Allie, "listen. I want you to do one thing and only one thing."

"Yes?" Allie asked.

"Don't leave the TARDIS for anything. She'll keep you safe," the Doctor said.

"But what about you?" Allie asked, concerned.

"Don't worry about me. I've got five hours. They can't kill me if they wanted to. Well…," the Doctor said, trailing off as she slightly tilted her head, "that is, unless they have stasers. Which I doubt. Andale!"

With that, the Doctor nearly jumped through the doors, laughing. She could faintly hear the Doctor cry out in the same alien tongue as she had been muttering in earlier as the doors closed, leaving her alone in the TARDIS.

Author's Note 3/7/13

Wow, this thing's crazy long. I just had to insert a long description of the new TARDIS interior and all of a sudden, the characters started interacting and I realized that they were doing things differently from how I'd planned (but not by much). 13 is being every bit the hyperactive motormouth (I was astounded by the amount she can just up and babble, let alone how much she's told Allie about Gallifrey and the Time Lords so far.) and I have no clue where andale came from (well, honestly, Mexico and perhaps old Looney Tunes cartoons) and I just heard her mentally shout it and I couldn't help myself.

I hope everyone's enjoying this and if I contradict anything, please let me know. Also, if I throw in too much American-isms in, just let me know. I'm not from Europe, so I only really have Doctor Who and Monty Python to fall on for examples of how people over there speak. And I have no clue where the planet of the soda geysers came from. That's so going to appear somewhere at one point because now it's never going to leave me. Sometimes caffeine should never be given to me because that's what I have to blame for this crazy long chapter.

Also, I think I found a song that I'm pretty much going to use as 13's theme: Unfinished Life by Audiomachine. It starts off with a sad piano part and then it gets epic and then it returns to sad piano. I had it on repeat while I was writing the first bit.

Please review! I need more encouragement (even though visitor count is also helping to keep me in good spirits)!

~Gregora


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

And Then Run

She gently set her cup of tea down on the table, watching the Time Lord who sat across the table from her. She didn't know how old the man was or which regeneration he was on. It really didn't matter. What did was what he was doing to all those innocent humans. Anger and rage welled inside her, but she swallowed it down. If they didn't listen to her warning, they would learn that ignoring her was something only idiots did. She didn't know if she was dealing with idiots or not.

"The least you can do is tell us who you are," the Time Lord stated politely.

"Of course. It would be horribly rude of me to not," she said with a polite smile, "I'm the Doctor."

She watched as the man shifted in his chair and she couldn't help but to smile. She knew that he knew what that meant. She knew that he knew exactly what she was there for. He knew about her.

"As in the renegade Prydonian who the council couldn't decide whether to praise or condemn?" the man asked.

"The very one," she said with a grin, "and it's come to my attention that you're playing with humans."

"We're rebuilding the Time Lords," the man said, "and we will rise again."

"At this cost?" the Doctor asked, "it would be hardly worth the cost you're exacting."

"Cost? What cost?" the man asked, "the compound is rather easy to make if you know where to find the ingredients and is next to effortless to create."

"The cost in human lives," she said with a frown, "you're destroying many people's lives using a process that is far too dangerous to use. You should stop before more lives are torn apart."

"We're making them better!" the man exclaimed, "don't you see? Time Lords are much more advanced than these… barbarians."

She glared at the man, "are you sure they're the barbarians? You're acting like you know what's better for them! You make all of us look like egotistical buffoons. You have no idea what humanity is capable of! How they have much for us to learn from! They're capable of so much more than you think they are! And you automatically think that since you're a Time Lord, it automatically makes you the greatest being in the universe? How shortsighted. It was this ego that caused the war to happen and caused Gallifrey to fall."

"We ARE better than these poor apes!" the man exclaimed, "one heart, one very short life. And their technology is far inferior. I think your time around them has clouded your mind, made you to see yourself in a rather incorrect light."

"You poor misguided fool," she said gently as if she was talking to a child, "they can and do make better use of their short lives than we make use of our incredibly long ones. It's never the length of life, but what you decide to do with it. So please, make it easy for both of us and give up this childish ploy of yours."

"I'm sorry it's come to this," the man said with an apologetic smile as he pulled out a weapon she recognized as being the standard issue pistol everyone, even herself, was given during the war, "but even if you disagree with us, you can still be useful. If what I know about you is correct, you have a human pet in your capsule."

"Don't you dare," she said icily.

"And you will become useful outside of giving us another subject," the man said with a grin.

"If you force my hand, you will be very, very sorry," she said calmly as she was led away from the table and into a cell.

The cell was a simple one, but of course all cells that TARDISes created were simple. A cot, amenities, the barest of essentials. She simply sat down on the edge of the cot and smirked to herself. They didn't know that they had been playing right into a contingency plan that she had in place, just in case. She realized one thing in that moment. She loved to plan for every possible detail. The first in a very long time. To add to that quality, she felt a sense of sheer glee in anticipation of watching as her plan unfurled and these poor children would realize just who they were dealing with. And they would realize that it would've been easier and simpler just to listen to her. But what made her smirk turn into an outright grin was a fact. A small, simple fact that made her glee turn into outright happiness. The fact that no one else would have to die and there would be absolutely no violence. At least, if they learned to wizen up and listen to the adult – which was her in this situation. Now, all she needed to do was allow everything to play out as it will.

Elsewhere, Allie paced around the console room for what felt like hours. She had the sinking feeling that the Doctor should have returned already. She glanced at her watch, knowing that the alien had left only a half an hour ago. She hoped that her newest friend – was it far too soon to see the Doctor as her friend? Regardless, she hoped that the alien was fine. She let out a sigh as she was in silence apart from the thrumming that the ship made.

"Well, what am I gonna do?" she asked, looking at the cylinder which stretched from the center of the console to the ceiling, seeing the liquid bubble, almost as if the ship was answering her.

She jumped as the door opened and turned to look, expecting to see the familiar alien. Instead, it was a man she had never seen before, wearing the robes similar to the man she had seen on the screen.

"Come or die," the man said darkly, aiming what appeared to be a gun of some kind at her.

"No need to threaten me," she said, raising her hands in the air, playing along as she hoped that the Doctor would save the day.

She found herself being pushed into what looked to be a cupboard, finding that it was a TARDIS not too unlike the one she was pulled from, and pushed into a corridor and finally into a lab where she was shoved onto and tied down to what looked like an operating table. She heard the doors open and she was able to move her head to see who was entering, seeing the Doctor. The Doctor was obviously a captive as well as the alien was forced to sit on a chair within sight of the table that she was strapped down on.

She watched as the Doctor made eye contact with her and grinned. She couldn't help but to smile back, knowing that she was in somewhat good company. The Doctor seemed relaxed, even as those seemingly in charge inserted a needle connected to a plastic tube into her arm. In fact, the Doctor lounged back in the chair, seemingly getting comfortable. She knew that both of them should be panicking, yet the Doctor was as serene as the eye of a storm. The Doctor's relaxed demeanor served to annoy her and she couldn't keep her annoyance hidden.

"Are you just gonna sit there as they pump who knows what into me?" she demanded as the Doctor clasped her hands behind her hand in a completely relaxed pose as a milky liquid started to flow through the tube, making the area around the needle feel like acid was entering her body.

"Yep," the alien responded with a grin.

"I hate you," she stated.

"And yet you were all convinced that you were going to tag along with me," the Doctor said lightly, "just relax."

"You have a plan, don't you?" she asked.

"I wouldn't exactly call it a plan," the Doctor said, sounding as if she was talking about something of no importance, "more of an idea. I think. It might be a plan. Really not all that sure. I mean, I am in the middle of my regeneration cycle. When Time Lords are in the middle of that specific cycle, they are notoriously known to be erratic and completely unpredictable as the new persona and personality is still in flux and trying to solidify as is the body. What this lot should do is start to worry when I stop fighting them and play along, which is quite the opposite of what someone who is concerned about their – as they put it – human pet. After all, they should realize that with all what I told them about how they're all wrong about how they're better than humanity and their knowledge that I tend to be protective and caring towards my human friends, it should worry them when I actually behave instead of actively fighting against them."

"What is the meaning of this?" the leader of the Time Lords asked.

"Just stating how you should notice that I'm acting completely suspicious and the bit of information you may not have noticed, specifically that I'm in the middle of my regeneration cycle. I just may have become completely insane and I may not mean anything by anything. Or maybe I just might be more clever than you think I am. Or I might even be more clever than even I think I am. That would be quite an accomplishment. A nice accomplishment, really. It'd be nice to be more clever than I think I am, it'd mean that I'm better than I think I am. I don't think my ego could survive that intact, I fear."

"Can you stop talking?" the leader almost shouted.

Allie watched as the Doctor straightened up in her chair and put her chin in her palm in an obviously played-up pose of thoughtfulness before saying, "no, I don't think I can. I think that I just might have hit my most talkative regeneration, and that is saying something. I don't exactly know what it's saying, maybe that I do need to travel with others just so that I could give my ears a break from my voice, which is a very unusual one compared to my other voices seeing as how this is my first and only female regeneration. That must be it! Why I'm so talkative. Must be the amount of regeneration energy coursing its way through my very being mixed with my usual talkative-ness – is that even a word? – and that on top of being a girl – we all know how us girls could start talking and never start – now where was I?"

"Doctor, you're giving _me_ a headache!" Allie exclaimed.

"No, actually, that must be the compound at work," the Doctor said as she jumped up, "which means that it's about time that I tell you lot how much of a group of bloody idiots you lot are."

"Sit back down and shut up!" the leader shouted.

"I don't think I will," the Doctor said, grinning as widely as she possibly can, "because you lot can't do anything to me. Oh, you can pretend you can but you are about as intimidating as week old kittens because I know one thing you lot may not know."

"Which is…?" the leader asked.

"Those would be the standard issue guns from the war, correct?" the Doctor asked, her tone turning serious and menacing.

"Yes, they are and I won't hesitate to shoot you. Now sit down and shut up!"

"Oh, shooting me won't do anything. Even if I wasn't in the middle of my regeneration cycle, they'd be as effective as using water pistols against me. And let me tell you why. Our people weren't morons in most regard. They didn't want us up and shooting each other in friendly fire with all the Daleks shooting at us on top of it all. So they made these weapons fire a beam which would harm the Daleks but not us. Brilliant piece of engineering that is. A gun that can hurt the enemy, but not Time Lords and Allie here has enough Time Lord running through her body that I sincerely doubt that your silly little gun could do anything to her," the Doctor said, disconnecting the needle from Allie's arm and helping her to stand before turning to regard the growing number of Time Lords in the lab, "I'll give you six hours to clean up your mess and shove off before I return. If I have to come back, you'll learn why the Daleks called me the Oncoming Storm and you'll regret that lesson if I have to teach it to you. And if I find out that you've up and played this very same game on another world, I will hunt you down and I won't be this lenient. Don't worry about showing us out. I know where the exit is. Ciao."

With that, the Doctor led Allie through the corridor up until Allie passed out. Silently, the Doctor caught her and carried her back to the TARDIS. She set her down on one of the jump seats in the console room just long enough to leave the warehouse behind and picked Allie up to take her to the lab.

Author's Note 3/7/13

I couldn't help but to write yet another chapter. This was actually quite fun because 13 shows off just how much of The Doctor she is. I think she took this trick from 10 or 11, actually. Just act all innocent and nice and then, when everything is in place, point out exactly where the baddies made their one wrong move before tearing apart the baddie's ploy. And I couldn't help but have the leader be driven mad by the fact that 13 seems to be particularly gifted in babbling almost incoherently. And like 10 and 11, she can't help but for her topic to wind its way away from her. There was one thing I really wanted 13 to be and that was to be almost as intimidating as 9 or 10 could be when she needs to be. I had the whole speech planned out for days and I really was excited to write it out.

So the next chapter would probably be done on Saturday morning and it will be 13 cleaning up her own messes and saying her farewells to Jack and Allie. It'll most likely be a short chapter, so I just might knock it out tonight. Or not. It's late and I should be going to bed soon. Once I set my clock after yesterday's power surge caused it to lose its settings. I hate thunderstorms.

Please Review!

~Gregora


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Saying Goodbye is Always Hard

She sat on the chair and waited as the liquid she was inserting in her newest friend's body would counteract the massive amounts of the compound that the group had inserted earlier. Personally, she wouldn't be too bothered if Allie had become a full Time Lord, but she knew that Allie would care. So it was out of consideration of what she assumed to be Allie's wishes that she was ensuring that Allie would remain completely and totally human. Well, that and because she was dead set on leaving everything as it was before she had crashed into Allie's life, not even a full twenty-four hours ago.

She watched as Allie stirred, possibly because her body was returning to a semblance of normalcy, or maybe it was the fact that Allie had about two hours of sleep. She knew that the poor girl hadn't had any sleep since she had crashed into said girl's attic. She was expecting Allie to awaken, instead hearing an almost incomprehensible string of words as the girl rolled over in her sleep. She smiled at the girl in amusement, feeling almost motherly or grandmotherly towards the much younger girl.

She took another blood sample from Allie, making sure that her body could cope with the amount of samples she had taken by ensuring that Allie was on some form of IV. Running the analysis, she could tell that she may never be completely human again as there were still some traces of Time Lord in her DNA. If she continued the IV, the girl might return to a completely human state. Or she might not.

There were things that needed her immediate attention before people started to worry. Point of interest number one on the list was to take care of the hole in her roof that she felt partially responsible for while she still was in the middle of her regeneration cycle. Leaving a hastily scribbled note to tell the girl to stay there until she returned, she left the lab and then the TARDIS behind.

Walking out of the TARDIS, she already noticed a black van and a familiar face waiting.

"Are you sure about this, Doctor?" Jack asked, looking at her, "have you ever had any experience fixing a roof?"

She merely grinned broadly before saying, "nope, but there's no time like the present to work it all out."

"At least you have experience putting up shelves in a hurry," Jack remarked, making her laugh as she remembered when she had first met Jack, many regenerations ago.

"Yeah, I do," she managed to say with a smile, "mind giving me a hand?"

"Figured you'd need a big strong man to do all the heavy lifting," Jack commented, his tone light and playful.

"Oi! I haven't all of a sudden become a weakling!" she exclaimed, just as playfully as she led the ex-Time Agent and conman into Allie's house and then into the attic.

"Wow. The TARDIS really did a good amount of damage," Jack stated, his tone amazed as he assessed the hole.

"A typical result when two solid objects collide," the Doctor said, "looks like if I can get something the right thickness as the beam that was shattered, we can smooth out where it shattered and then use some supports to keep the replacement section in place."

"Are you sure this isn't outside our abilities?" Jack asked.

"I've built cabinets before, Jack," she commented.

"And we're considering repairing a roof on our own. Wouldn't it be easier just paying for a contractor?" Jack asked.

"Like I carry money on my person," she muttered.

"I know what something like your Screwdriver could do to an ATM," Jack stated lightly.

"I'm not leaving until the roof's repaired and it'd be sooner done by my hand. Sides, I still have some time left on my regeneration cycle. If I happen to fall off the roof, it won't kill me. Or injure me too badly."

"And I'm the man that can't stay dead," Jack stated.

"Oh, they'll come a day when you will," she stated before saying, "either way, I'm going to need to get to an ATM and you're driving. It's your van after all. Even if I have actually passed a driver's test."

"And how long ago was that?" Jack asked before saying, "you've already seen my death."

"It was back when I was working with UNIT," she stated, leading Jack back down the stairs.

"Doctor, tell me. You've seen my death, haven't you?" Jack asked, following the Doctor down the stairs.

"Most of your future is in my past, Jack," she stated, "we've been meeting out of order from the very beginning. Which shouldn't surprise me considering… I met your future self long before I met you."

"So I must look pretty different then," Jack stated.

"Very. Night and day. I don't know when or if I'll meet you like this again," she stated, "but you'll get to see my past selves. Specifically ninth, tenth, and eleventh. And that's all you're going to get from me."

"Which one's your ninth?" Jack asked as they reached the bottom of the steps.

"Leather jacket, ears the size of satellite dishes," she stated lightly as they left the house.

"So the regeneration you were in when I first met you," Jack stated with a grin, "he was fun. The one afterward was a bit lacking in fun."

"I was just getting tired of your usual pickup line," she stated as she slid into the passenger seat of the van.

"What pickup line?"

"Jack, you're the only one in the known universe who uses 'hello' as a pickup line," she stated with a chuckle and smile.

"And it's worked more times than you'd think. Certainly more times than you running around saying that you're the Doctor," Jack stated, "now, if you announced that you were the gynecologist, on the other hand…"

"Shut it, you!" she exclaimed lightly, chuckling to herself, "that'd be a horrible title."

"Maybe for you."

After an hour and more laughing than she'd done in a long time, she found herself on the roof with a saw and sitting in what she would have thought was a dangerous position if not for her quick thinking and taking advantage of her regeneration cycle. She was smoothing out where the beam was shattered when she heard the TARDIS doors open and Allie walked out before looking up to where she was sawing.

"Nice to see you're awake but I was just about to check up on you!" she called down to the human girl, lifting up the saw in greeting.

"What do you think you're doing on my roof?" Allie demanded with a frown and hands on her hips.

"Fixing it!" she called back before turning back to her job of sawing the beam.

"And how much experience do you have fixing roofs?"

"I know what I'm doing, little girl," she called down, "no worries. This will be almost how it was before I crashed into it."

"Fine but I won't be held responsible if you happen to fall!"

"I won't fall! Do I look like I have two left feet?" she called down to the girl before looking down into the hole, "how does this end look?"

"Do I look like a contractor to you?" Jack asked back before saying, "it looks fine."

"I'm gonna go work on the other end," she said, "how are you doing cutting the beam?"

"Would be making more progress if we knew how long it needs to be!"

"It shouldn't take me too long," she said before standing up and slid down the sloping roof about a foot.

"Watch it!" Allie exclaimed in worry.

"Don't worry, I've walked on roofs several times before. Once on Christmas Eve, actually. Then I up and decided that I should give the chimney a shot," she called down as she walked uncertainly towards where she needed to be, the saw in her hands.

"You're gonna kill yourself from up there!" Allie shouted.

"Thanks for the wonderful support! You really know how to bolster my confidence!" she shouted back, her words dripping in sarcasm, "it shouldn't be too bad if I fell from up here. I've fallen from higher up and I was just fine."

She was most of the way to the other side of the hole in the roof, only needing to make her way back up towards the apex of the roof. As she was making her climb, she lost her footing and slid the whole way off the roof to land in the bushes.

"Doctor!" Allie exclaimed, running to the bushes.

"Don't worry, the bushes broke my fall," she stated, jumping to her feet.

As soon as she got to her feet, she let out a yelp as she lifted a leg so she was balancing on one foot.

"You got hurt, didn't you?" Allie asked, chuckling at her.

"It's not funny," she snapped before saying in a distracted tone, "One… no… two fractures. A compound fracture. Not bad. Been through worse."

"Are you okay?" Jack called down, poking his head out from an attic window.

"Yeah, just a compound fracture. I can feel it mending already. Should be fine in a minute or so."

"You're a dork," Allie stated.

"Nope. Time Lord… well, Time Lady, specifically."

"Like I said. 'You're a dork.'"

"I hope that's a good thing," she stated with a smile.

"I'd feel better if I just get contractors in to fix the roof," Allie stated, "who knows how good your carpentry skills are."

"I've got a Sonic Screwdriver. I've got everything I'd need to make sure that your roof won't leak."

"Which would mean something if it even had a wood setting!" Jack called down, "I've been trying to convince her to just get a contractor, but she wants to get it done as soon as she could so she won't be tied down here.

"Thanks for backing me up."

"Don't mention it." Jack stated, "it won't be too much of a hassle for Torchwood to hire a carpenter. I mean, the two of you did chase those guys off."

"At least for the time being," she said, quietly.

"I think that'd be best. Thanks, Captain!" Allie called up.

"It's the least I can do. I'll be right down!"

The sun was setting and the Doctor couldn't help but to have mixed feelings. She was finally out of her regeneration cycle and felt better now that she didn't have a massive amount of energy running through her still forming body. And then there was the one thing that brought her spirits low. The one thing which felt so very hard for her to do. Especially since she knew that she had to be not too far before Jack would encounter the Headless Monks and lose. But she knew that she couldn't give Jack too many hints or else he'd figure it all out. She wondered if she'd see him, either as him or as the Face of Boe before he would die, all the way back in her own past.

She checked the TARDIS' console over, the doors wide open, knowing that the TARDIS was primed and ready to leave at any moment. She stepped back out, seeing Jack and Allie stand next to each other, looking into the TARDIS.

"Nice setup you've got," Jack stated.

"Thanks. She's beautiful, isn't she?" she asked, wanting to hold off the inevitable, even for a few more moments.

"I miss how she used to look," Jack stated.

"I think I actually like this desktop theme. I'm pretty sure I'm keeping it," she stated with a smile before turning to Allie.

"It was certainly fun," she said, looking at Allie.

"I told you that I'm going with you," Allie stated with a frown as she crossed her arms.

"I don't think so. Those who would figure out my identity would know that I travel with others. You'd only be a living target," she stated as she put her hands on the girl's shoulders as she frowned, "I'd love it if you could come, but it was just too dangerous for you to come. You were simply wonderful and I'm sorry that I had to let them mess with your genetics."

"I'm still not saying it," Allie said stubbornly.

"Then just do one thing. One simple but very big, very important thing. If not for me than for yourself," she said, giving the girl a friendly smile.

"And that is?"

"I want you to have a wonderful life. Do you think you can do that?"

Allie nodded silently before the Doctor smiled, letting go of Allie's shoulders, "that's a good girl."

"So this is goodbye, huh?" Jack asked.

"I'm starting to doubt that the only goodbye to be said between us is the day when you die," she said with a smile as she turned to face Jack, "I think it's more of a 'see you later', honestly."

"But you don't know if you'll see me again," Jack said.

"Who knows what our futures hold. I might check up on you one day," she said with a smile, "I never forget my friends, even if my appearance and persona changes."

"But you're still the same person, Doctor," Jack said with a smile.

"I'm honored that you think that," she said before giving Jack a hug.

"You better come look for me later on," Jack stated.

"You betcha. Even if the visit's just me dropping by to say 'hi', I will," she said with a smile.

"I'll see you later then, Doctor," Jack said before climbing into his van.

She turned to head into the console room of her TARDIS before turning back and looking at the damaged, but homey house as the dimming sunlight glinted off the closed windows. She wondered when or even if she would return to visit Allie, but she knew that she would have to one day. It was then she remembered that the clothes she was wearing was in fact borrowed by Allie before smirking to herself. It wasn't the first time she borrowed something. That meant that one day, she would be forced to return. She admitted to herself that it was a clever plan. She smiled and waved at the house, hoping that somewhere, Allie was watching from somewhere within the house.

She entered the TARDIS, closing the doors behind her. She nearly skipped to the console with a grin, feeling as if she was free. That she was free to see so many worlds with her new eyes. So many things to do and see. And she knew where she wanted to go. She pressed a series of buttons before pulling a lever, causing the transparent blue liquid in the glass cylinder started to swirl around, creating a vortex as the TARDIS started to whirr and groan as the ship went through dematerialization. Once she knew that she was in the vortex, she started to set coordinates.

"So where are we going, Doctor?" Allie asked, emerging from the lower level underneath the console.

"The soda geysers of Viabe," she responded absentmindedly as she piloted the TARDIS.

"Sounds amazing," Allie said with a wide grin, "I can't wait to see these geysers. Do the people drink the soda?"

"They purify it first," she replied lightly before her head jolted to look at Allie, "oh."

"You're such a dork," Allie said lightly with a grin.

"No. No, no, no," she muttered with a frown as she balled up her right hand into a fist and literally hit a large button before entering a new set of coordinates, "I'm taking _you_ back to your home and then _I_'m going to the soda geysers of Viabe."

"Why are you no fun?" Allie asked.

"Does it even bother you?" she asked, staring right into Allie's eyes, "you were nearly turned into a Time Lord."

"That doesn't sound so bad," Allie said without any hesitation.

"No," she said, "it would be. You wouldn't be a true Time Lord. And neither were those they fully turned into Time Lords."

"And why's that?" Allie asked, staring at the Doctor.

"There's more to it than genetics. There's oaths sworn to uphold the laws of time and of the Time Lords," she said.

"Well, you could teach me about the laws of time," Allie stated lightly.

"I'm not having this conversation with you. You're human and not Time Lord," she stated.

"How completely was I turned back to human?"

"Mostly."

"I think you're hiding things from me," Allie said, glaring at her.

"I'm the Doctor. I'm always hiding things," she stated before pressing another button and flipping more switches as the TARDIS started to go through the materialization sequence.

"Why is it that you're making me feel like I'm a child trying to run away from home?" Allie asked as the Doctor led her to the doors.

"This is where you get dropped off, Allie Irving," the Doctor stated as she pushed the doors open, "good old-"

She looked around as she heard hustling and bustling of crowds. She turned her head around, noticing a lavender-colored sky and pale blue clouds. The crowds were a mix of humans and various other races, each and every one of them rushing off to who knows what.

"I don't think this is Earth," Allie stated.

"Thanks for that stunning example of your powers of observation," she remarked sarcastically.

From down the street, a scream was heard. She looked to Allie for a moment before breaking into a run. She couldn't help but to smile to herself as she could hear Allie's footfalls from behind her, keeping up with her. She wondered how long this would continue until either Allie was pulled away from her, left her, or was killed. She pushed that worrying thread of thought away. Someone was in trouble and this was how it always began.

The Doctor is in.

Author's Note 3/8/13

This was written during my break between classes in which I have about two hours until something happens. So yeah, I was bored. I really enjoyed the back and forth between 13 and Jack, which really shows that 13 knows that it's just words and friendship between them and is willing to play along with him. And Allie is just a sneaky one. Almost like she talked Jack into being a distraction.

I know that the first adventure for 13 was pretty light on action. Her second adventure will have plenty of running and trying to figure out just what's going down. After all, it started with someone letting out a bloodcurdling scream. That's always good. Right?

Also, I found it a nice touch that 13 would come up with an excuse to visit Allie at her house not knowing that Allie has plans of her own, by giving up the borrowed clothes "later". Gee, now why does that sound familiar? I also couldn't resist the urge to be a bit cheesy at the end there. But I hope it has the feeling of at least a decent episode. I hope everyone liked that little adventure. Oh, this next one may be longer or as long. Or not. I know what I have planned, but I might expand the plan further.

~Gregora


	9. Bonus Thing - Beware of Spoilers

The interior of the TARDIS looks rather large, the main floor overlooking a lower floor with stairs against a far wall, leading down. Around the edge of the main level, there are railings. Against the wall, there are lots of clear tubes and cylinders with transparent, light blue liquid flowing through them. The cylinders are backlit. On the ceiling, there are a greater number of these cylinders, casting everything in a blue-tinged light. There is a rather large screen set in the far wall across from the console.

The console is rounded, looking to be made from panels of sculpted steel with a covering of transparent blue glass, giving the steel a light blue sheen. The console is covered in dials, knobs, switches, buttons, and levers of various origins, including what looks to have once been a manual gear lever from an automatic transmission car of some kind. From the center of the console is a large glass cylinder which leads up to the ceiling. The large glass cylinder is also lit and partially full of what looks to be the same liquid that's in the tubes and clear pipes.

"I am the last," Thirteen says, her voice tinged with sadness as she stands so that her back is towards Allie, "the last version of me."

She starts to go through the process of flipping seemingly random switches, pressing seemingly random buttons, turning seemingly random knobs, and pulling the gear lever from a manual transmission car in a way which would have sent the car in reverse and then through two different gears. The whole process makes her run around the console multiple times. The TARDIS dematerialization sound can be heard.

She looks up at Allie from across the console with a determined smile, "but that's never going to stop me."

Thirteen grabs Allie's hand and they're running down a street as an explosion happens behind them. The TARDIS is in space, between two different fleets of ships before the light blinks off and on as it dematerializes, fully dematerializing before it could be hit by beam weapons.

"The Doctor is a lot of things. The Oncoming Storm."

A large Dalek mothership is seen in orbit around Earth before it explodes. A large alien ship is firing on an earthlike planet before it explodes.

Thirteen is leaning against the console, glowering at the doors with her arms crossed over her chest. She watches as explosions dot the planet's surface, kicking up dust. Even the far side of the planet has these explosions, making it light up. Dark clouds of dust are seen as a result of the explosions. The explosions on the planet slowly comes to a stop. The planet is mostly covered by clouds of dust and smoke, only allowing small glimpses of bits of land and water. The TARDIS dematerializes, leaving the planet behind.

"The Destroyer of Worlds."

"I have been a lot of things over the years," Thirteen says, her voice quiet, her back turned to Allie as she stands at the console.

Thirteen is running alone, explosions wracking the area. Thirteen is in the TARDIS opening the doors, seeing a room full of TARDISes which don't have their chameleon circuits in use. Her eyes open in surprise.

Thirteen is grinning as a cyberman approaches her. As the cyberman lifts its arm to fire, she lifts her arm, pointing her sonic screwdriver at it. Everything seems to be in slow motion as the cyberman fires and Thirteen uses her sonic screwdriver.

Thirteen is standing, surrounded by Daleks. Their weapons glow and time seems to slow down as she grins.

"I will never die. I refuse to die!" Thirteen shouts in anger, "You. Will. Never. Kill! ME!"

The cyberman and Thirteen fires their respective technology at each other in slow motion, Thirteen keeps the sonic screwdriver active as she ducks from the cyberman's attack.

As the group of Daleks fire on Thirteen in slow motion and Thirteen grins, falling to the ground before their laser blasts hit her and all the Daleks get hit by each other's blasts.

There are a group of six Time Lords sitting at a long table. Each of the six is wearing the traditional ceremonial robes of different colors. A woman wearing crimson and orange robes stands up. Everyone else at the table stares out at the dark room in fear and nervousness. There is only one source of light outside of the light above and on the table, a single beam coming from above.

"We wish for you to verify your identity and what you stand for," the woman states, her tone even and perhaps a bit curious.

A Sontaran battle fleet fires on a defenseless planet.

Daleks are in the street of an alien world, firing on innocent beings.

Thirteen walks into the beam of light in the dark room, her mouth curling into a smile before saying, "I'm the Doctor and I stand for those who are oppressed. Those who want and need help. And I try to make everything better than it was when I enter the equation."

Author's Note 3/9/13

So this popped into my head as I was listening to some epic music and I couldn't stop typing it up. Some of this is pretty much ideas or cliches as far as Doctor Who is concerned and some are idea seeds that I hope to use beyond what I have planned. Others were just lines or dialogue which I couldn't get out of my head. I have the end in mind and I have things planned out for a while (assuming that each adventure lasts me a week, I have the rest of this month's chapters planned out). You guys would either love or hate how I end this, but I pretty much know what will happen during the final one or two chapters and it's my idea of the best way to deal with the 12 regeneration limit.

The reason why I'm working with the 12 regeneration limit is because from my research, the limit was put in place because beyond that point, the cells and personas would become increasingly unstable. And even if there's no other Time Lords around, I can't imagine that the Doctor would ignore that limit due to a number of factors. One, he'd reach a point where he just can't keep going because of how old (mentally speaking) he is and he'd just put himself out of his own misery since there is a limit to what anyone could withstand before they get tired of living even if they're pretty much immortal. Two, it's one of the biggest Time Lord laws and by breaking it, Time Lords from the past or what have you may choose to hunt him down actively for breaking it (just because the current Gallifrey is gone, doesn't mean they can't patrol the post-Gallifrey future). Three, I can't see him as being willing to take the risk to keep regenerating if there's a chance that the post-12th regenerations would be more and more unstable. Four, and final, is that he knows that everyone and everything must one day die (Nine was really good at pointing that out) and that also includes him.

So about the bit that 13 says at the end, we all know that she's going to be yanked out of retirement often enough that she'll give up the idea of retiring. That or she'll get bored of said retirement (I'm surprised that 11 "retired" and went through a time of doing nothing and out of all of the iterations I'm familiar with, he's the most "Allergic to Routine" of them all. 10 didn't retire after losing Rose and I doubt that Amy means more to any of the Doctors from 9 on than Rose did. Sorry, getting off my soapbox now...). Okay, those are just a few bits of what will happen.

I'll probably start on the next chapter soon-ish.

~Gregora


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

The Cost of Kindness

She brushed her hair away from her eyes, triggering memories of having done a similar gesture in previous bodies, but it was new due to the fact that she had to deal with more hair than any of her predecessors. She was kneeling over a humanoid who was obviously a male and was seemingly only a teenager. He took a shaky gasp as he looked up at her.

The teenaged guy had short blonde hair which was cut close to his scalp, making him seem almost bald because of how fine his hair was. His eyes were big blue doe-eyes, full of innocence. She could feel her hearts twist in pain by how someone so young was in such a state and obviously due to an outside force. He didn't even look panicked, possibly because he was in a state of confusion. If someone were to call attention to the wound which tore his belly up and caused his own blood to puddle around him, he would most likely panic. She knew that if she were to keep the guy calm, he would live longer.

"Everything will be fine," she said gently, "I'm the Doctor."

"How am I?" he asked, his voice tinged with pain.

"You'll be fine," she said with a gentle smile before asking, "what happened?"

"I saw something move," he said before gasping, tears forming in his eyes, "I was attacked. I don't know by who or by what. Am I going to die?"

"Just stay calm," she said, her voice still retaining the gentleness she'd been using the whole time but with a serious edge, "can you do that for me?"

"I don't wanna die," he said, starting to cry.

"I think most would agree with that statement," she said, trying to keep the guy calm as she smiled.

"You should stop running soon," he said weakly before closing his eyes and letting out a sigh.

"Rest easy," she said to the guy before standing up, pulling out her screwdriver in a fluid motion, scanning the area, the tip glowing a turquoise color as she spun around before settling on a direction and started to run.

"Where are we going?" Allie asked, trying to keep up.

"Who or whatever did this left a bit of a trail," she stated, her face almost unreadable, "mostly because they were wearing a shimmer suit. Consider it to be like a personal cloaking device, capable of making you appear humanoid. Which means whatever it is, they're most likely very not humanoid in the slightest. And they don't want to be found."

"So we're going to find them," Allie said lightly.

"Of course we will," she replied, her tone almost sarcastic as she made a sharp turn down a street, keeping to the sidewalk, "it's kind of what I do."

"But I thought you were adamant about retiring," Allie stated sharply.

"I may be retired but I'm not one to ignore the fact that an innocent life was ended for no reason," she stated, frowning as she stopped, "and the trail ends here. But why here?"

Allie looked around and then down before the Doctor noticed that she was staring at the ground and looked down to see a manhole and gave Allie a grin.

"No," Allie said, her tone disbelieving as the Doctor slipped her Sonic Screwdriver into her pocket and kneeled over the manhole cover in order to find a way to remove it.

"Aha! Got it!" the Doctor exclaimed almost happily before lifting the manhole cover and setting it aside, "Andale!"

"I'm not going to go down in some sewer!" Allie exclaimed, "what if there's huge freaking space rats or overly large, mutated alligators?"

"Then we'll run," The Doctor replied with a smile, "C'mon, Allie Irving! Adventure awaits!"

"I can't believe this!" Allie fumed as the Doctor climbed down into the sewer with her following the alien which was starting to confuse her.

"Doctor?" Allie asked as she climbed down slowly.

"Hmm?" Allie heard from below her as she continued to climb.

"Earlier… right after the meatloaf, you were very hesitant about being involved to the point I had to convince you to stop your people," Allie stated.

"I seem to recall that. I suppose you're confused over my seemingly change of heart, hmm?" Allie could hear the Doctor say from below her before hearing the sound of footsteps hitting concrete, "you've got two more steps until the ground."

"Thanks," Allie said as she reached the ground, "and yes, you've managed to confuse me."

The Doctor held her sonic screwdriver in her hand, activating it so that she could follow the trail through the sewer. She was starting to wish that her sense of smell wasn't better than the standard human's. She could deal without being able to smell the sewage better than Allie could.

"I seem to have a habit of confusing those who decide to travel with me," the Doctor said lightly, her quiet voice still managing to echo, even if the echo itself was very slight.

"But why be involved if you're so afraid of dying?" Allie asked.

"Because there are a few things I just can't ignore. There are a few things in this universe which, if I detect, I can't ignore. An innocent person dying for seemingly no rhyme nor reason is just one of those things. Especially if it's a child."

"But you mentioned that you're over a thousand years old," Allie said, "everyone'd be a child compared to you."

"So you manage to catch onto that detail," the Doctor said, a small smile in her tone, "that's good. I'll miss you once I drop you off at your home on Earth."

"How long have you been traveling alone, Doctor?" Allie asked.

She really didn't want to answer. She let out a sigh, trying to find something, anything really, to sidetrack the conversation. She didn't want to have this conversation. She didn't want to admit the fact that she'd been traveling alone for too long, just as she'd admit that she didn't really want to leave Allie behind. But she knew she should. It never helped to get attached to humans, but she never could prevent that. Try as hard as she might, she knew that she would get attached to Allie and that losing her would hurt just as much, if not worse, than losing any of her previous companions.

"How long?" Allie said, her tone becoming insistent.

"Can we have this conversation some other time? Any other time, really?" she asked, not turning to speak to Allie since she wanted to get to the end of the trail and stop more people from dying.

"Fine. I will bring this up once we're done cleaning up this mess," Allie stated, sounding rather annoyed.

She let out a sigh, a little annoyed at herself from pushing Allie away. She was becoming quite rude again. She wondered if it was just something that came with age. She wondered how Allie would deal if she were to meet her end before she could get Allie back to her home, assuming she did take her on as a traveling companion. She would have to reset Emergency Program One. That was going to be hard. It would be hard, not because of any real difficulty in doing so, but because of the memories associated with it. She hadn't reset it since it was set, regenerations ago.

She pushed the memories and thoughts away from her mind, knowing she would have to focus on what was happening in order to keep Allie safe. It was in tense situations like this that she didn't think about herself. However, she couldn't ignore that little voice at the back of her head, warning her. _Careful now. This is the last body I'll ever have. Don't want to waste this one. That'd be daft of me. Losing a body I'm just breaking in after regenerating less than twenty-four hours ago. I'm not that careless._

She stopped in her tracks and then scanned the walls, seeing a ladder leading up. According to the sonic, the trail went up the ladder. Pocketing the sonic, she walked to the ladder and started to climb. She couldn't wait to have actual fresh air rather than the dank, foul smelling air she'd been breathing in for about a half an hour. She knew she was going to have to clean herself very well after the nice walk in a sewer.

She silently climbed up the ladder, hearing Allie climb behind her. Finally reaching the manhole cover, she balanced to use the ladder for stability as she used both of her hands to move the manhole cover out of the way. The first thing she noticed was that the daylight made her flinch. As she blinked away the temporary blindness, she noticed the second thing that registered in her mind. That there were guns pointed at her.

"Oh, hello there!" she said brightly with a grin, "don't mind us. We're just sewer inspectors, inspecting the sewers. Someone's got to control the numbers those large people eating things down there. Luckily enough, we only encountered trace amounts of Vasta Narada and no massive people eating things. I suppose you want to see our identification."

She pulled out a leather-bound blindfold and she hoped that it wasn't her millennia-old library card. She was going to need to renew that before too long. She flipped it open, facing the people with guns. They looked at her before snarling.

"Psychic paper doesn't work on us," one of the humanoids snarled with a grin, his skin pale with dark hair and eyes.

"It was worth a shot," the Doctor said with a frown as she climbed out.

"What are we going to do now?" Allie asked.

"Find out who and what they are," she replied quietly before turning to one of the humanoids, an adult male with the same pale skin and black hair, this one's black hair was pulled back into a ponytail of some sort and had various types of tribal tattoos on his face and arms, "So what exactly are you lot? It's awfully hard to tell with your shimmer suits on."

"We are Niarlan," the man stated with a grunt.

"I know an awful lot about your people," the Doctor said, turning serious and grim, "you lot are very far away from your home. What are you doing so far away from your little corner of the galaxy, hmm? And I know how you think. If it can't defend itself, it's weak and worth being killed. It's all that matters is who's top dog."

The man glared at the last bit, growing angry as he hit a circular device that hung at his hip, becoming a canid bipedal creature with scales underlying the fur, both being black in color. Allie gasped, taking a step back.

"I'm good," the Doctor said with a grin, "because I know that you don't want to fight me."

"And why's that?" the creature asked with a deep, throaty growl as the Doctor's expression went from light and jovial to something much darker and much more sinister.

"Because I'm your worst nightmare. I've destroyed countless worlds. I'm responsible for multiple genocides. Even the Daleks feared me once, calling me such things as 'the Predator', 'the Oncoming Storm', and 'the Destroyer of Worlds'. The question is, are you as thick to try to mess with someone who makes the Daleks quiver in terror? Well?"

All of the guns lowered almost at the same time as the Niarlans stepped back, almost in respect. The Doctor walked up to the undisguised Niarlan as Allie was started to be filled by fear just by the expression on the Doctor's face. An expression filled with anger and rage and barely restrained wrath. For the first time since meeting the alien, Allie was starting to have honest second thoughts.

"Smart move," the Doctor said darkly, "now, tell me – what is your business here. Come on, tell me. Tell me what exactly brought you here."

"It's a Niarlan matter," the undisguised Niarlan stated with a frown, "nothing for outsiders to get mixed up with."

"Then tell me why a child was murdered in cold blood!" the Doctor shouted angrily, her body shaking with the effort to restrain her anger, "then tell me why one family has lost one of their children!"

"He got in the way of our hunt," the Niarlan stated, "and if you get in our way, you will join that child."

"I think not," the Doctor said, her voice just above a whisper, "and just keep in your small, thick minds just who you're dealing with. I'm the Doctor, a Time Lord. If I see another murdered innocent, the hunters will become the hunted. There will be no safe place for you and your people in this whole universe. That's your one warning I'll give you."

With that, the Doctor turned around and started to walk away. She could hear Allie starting to follow her, trailing behind her. She headed towards an alley where no one would care to look for anyone in, or would even want to look into to see people there. She needed to sit down for a moment and compose her thoughts and maybe calm her raging emotions. Finding a solid box that she knew would hold her weight, she sat down and hugged her knees to her chest and rested her head on her knees.

"Are you okay?" Allie asked after a lengthy silence.

"I've yet to get injured," she answered, almost muffled by the way she was sitting.

"I was talking about emotionally, you dork!"

"I'm starting to think I haven't been emotionally okay since the war," she said quietly.

"Can I ask you something? It's something I need to know before anything else happens."

"Okay."

"What was all that about destroying worlds and genocide?"

"Do you honestly think that my hands aren't caked with blood?"

"I didn't think that you were a monster."

"I think I am. Did I ever tell you how the war ended? It ended because of me. I sealed the entirety of the war in a bubble where time is speeding along within the bubble, while on the outside, time is at its normal pace. In effect, I condemned my own people to death. My people, my family. Gone. All because of me! All because I knew that if no one did something, the universe would have collapsed under the strain of the war," Allie could hear the Doctor as the alien remained motionless before she continued, "and I thought I recovered from it all long ago."

"I think it's because you're dealing with hormones and the fact that there are others of your own people out there," Allie offered.

"Right. Girls are often very… emotional," the Doctor said before jumping up suddenly, grinning widely and acting as if she hadn't been angst ridden moments ago, full of the manic energy Allie had realized was the alien's normal mood, "let's see what that hunting party's hunting for, shall we?"

Allie nodded dumbfoundly, wondering if she should see an actual doctor for the case of whiplash she experienced because of the Doctor's moodiness. She smiled a little as the alien grabbed her wrist.

"Andale!" the Doctor exclaimed, pulling Allie along as the two girls left the alleyway behind.

Author's Note 3/11/13

I'm so sorry that I didn't get this done and up during the weekend. I wound up wandering around TVTropes while watching a show that was intended for those much, much younger than I am (but it's so cute and has good writing…). And then before I knew it, I was listening to audio dramas which is a crossover due to the fact that there is a background character throughout the cartoon which is surprisingly like the Doctor and is constantly seen running by. (Okay, the cartoon was My Little Pony and the crossover audio drama is called Doctor Whooves Adventures and both are very addicting.)

I really should get working on a final project for my class (expected to be possible to complete in an hour and I'm mostly done with it). I just hope that I could stave off my Doctor Who addiction until the new episode comes out. I do have a season of the 8th Doctor's audio dramas left plus a ton of Classic Who on Netflix and the new episode of Doctor Whooves Adventures is coming out soon and I've yet to listen to any Doctor Whooves and Assistant outside of the huge crossover (the crossover was epic and hilarious due to there being two different Doctors in the same location… seems to be a reoccurring thing where if there's two or more different Doctors involved, they will argue and bicker… with the exception of Time Crash.).

Don't forget to be awesome, everyone!

~Gregora


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

A Shadowy Deal

"I'm starting to get hungry, Doctor," Allie stated with a frown.

"You too?" the Doctor asked with a sigh, "my brain's trying hard not to remind me of my stomach. Oh look! Over there!"

The Doctor motioned to a little food stand with both of her hands as a wide, jovial grin appeared on her face before she started jumping up a few times with a giggle. Allie couldn't help but to laugh at the alien's antics and being overly jubilant over finding a food stand. Still, Allie couldn't help but to feel bothered over how the Doctor could act so jovial and excited over a food stand while she had been driven to cry not too long ago. Was it the hormones, or was it the fact that the alien was trying to hide everything under a mask of hyperactive giddiness? She couldn't tell.

"I wonder if they have any Celennian Jales. I haven't had a good Celennian Jale in ages!" the alien exclaimed excitedly, speaking her thoughts aloud before seeing Allie's confused reaction, "it's somewhere between a sandwich and a pie. Normally made with various fruit found on the planet on Celennia where the Celennian Jale originates from. There's a variety made with a fruit not entirely unlike bananas. I do love a good banana. Well, I did. Not a single clue if I still do. Least I did during my ninth and tenth versions. Once, I managed to level a weapons manufacturing plant on Villengard and then replaced it with a banana grove."

"I swear you're a verbal wikiwalk," Allie muttered before raising her voice to her normal volume, "so weren't we going to go eat?"

"Food, right," the Doctor said cheerily, "come with me if you want to eat."

Allie chuckled as the alien abruptly turned around and nearly took off running towards the food stand. She started to jog to catch up with the unusual alien before she felt something grab her and cover her mouth with a piece of fabric in one smooth action. Within seconds, she felt her whole body grow limp as darkness overtook her. She was vaguely aware of being carried away.

The Doctor, however, wasn't aware of what had befallen Allie as she took her spot in the line at the food stand. She was starting to grow impatient and worried. She glanced at her wrist, fully expecting to see a watch there before chuckling at her natural impulse.

"Of course not," she muttered to herself with a chuckle.

She started to look around, trying to locate the slightly tanned, raven haired young woman that was Allie. She took in all of the details of the area, trying to find the girl. Panic raised its head and stirred in her hearts. She was concerned that something horrible had befallen Allie, or was about to because the aforementioned human had gone off on her own. After all, it was what always happened. But of course, she started to piece together a plan as she reached the front of the line and found out that the food stand did in fact serve Celennian Jales and that they did have the variety of Jale that she wanted.

After paying for the food by way of a credchip, she sat down on a bench. By 'sitting down', I mean she was sitting on it in a way where her feet were on the seat and she was sitting on the highest part of the bench itself. As she poked at her food with her utensil which was quite similar to what you would get if you merged a fork and a spoon twice over. She came to two realizations as she ate her Jale, the first of which was that she really hoped that bananas tasted better than the fruit used in her meal or else she would add the sad truth to her list of sad truths. The second realization was that when it came time for her to drop Allie off at her house in the early 21st century, she would miss the girl. After those two realizations, a third hit her. That third realization was that she knew what she would have to do. She had a plan and it was going to be a rather fun plan.

As the Doctor was piecing things together and eating her sandwich pie meal, Allie was just inching her way closer to consciousness. Her head was feeling not unlike someone had created a rather large hole on the top of her skull, scooped her brains out with a rather cold spoon, and replaced all the gray matter with a metric ton of strawberry flavored cotton candy. She just managed to lift her head to see a canine-like life form inching towards her. She knew, completely in hindsight, that she should have reacted in fear for her life. After all, it had rather jagged teeth, each of them obviously very sharp and very thin. Its claws were like horrible talons and it walked on two legs, stalking towards her.

"I'm not wearing a red hood," Allie commented lightly, still feeling rather dazed.

"Whut?" the alien asked, stopping in his tracks to tilt his head at her, looking rather confused.

"Little Red Riding Hood," Allie stated, seeing that the alien was still rather confused before saying, "forget it. Anyways, I'll have you know that I'm friends with someone you don't want as your enemy."

"I fear that she already is," the alien stated, "that is why I borrowed you. You are her friend and you may be able to convince her to scare away the hunting party."

"Why are your own people after you anyways? What did you do?" Allie asked, looking up at the alien, looking into its eyes for the first time.

The alien's eyes were impossibly round and appeared to be much bigger than its eyelids allowed it to be. Scars littered the alien's eyes and as it moved, she could see scars seemingly shimmer underneath the fur. She knew that this one was some sort of fighter, soldier, or warrior. Her opinion was backed up by the glint of emotional turmoil, something she managed to sneak glimpses at whenever the Doctor's mask cracked. There was also a similar gaze, a slightly unfocused look, as if everything was yards away.

"I showed mercy to a weaker foe," the alien admitted quietly, "I allowed a weaker foe to live. For no reason other than… I'm tired of the bloodshed, the constant combat between the different tribes."

"I don't understand," Allie said, watching the alien.

"My people are separated by tribes. Each tribe holds a planet within the overall territories. And we're all trying to emerge as the greatest tribe. By being the survivor. An unending civil war fueled by bigotry and religion. The religion of my people… it teaches us that the strongest tribe will reach paradise, as will that tribe's ancestors and descendants. And we believe that the strongest is the survivor. Your friend… she called herself 'the Doctor', does she not?"

"That's right," Allie said quietly.

"To my people, her name means 'feared survivor and hunter of Daleks'," the alien stated.

"So she's… a sort of boogeyman to your people?"

"No. A hero," the alien said quietly, "a being of no mercy, just rage and bloodshed. I should return you before I ask for a worse fate than to be hunted by my own people. Can you walk?"

"I believe so," Allie stated.

"Then I will take you to where I found you. Please, follow."

Author's Note 2/12/13

Okay, I'm going to be gravitating more towards manic Doctor than grimdark/emo/angsty Doctor as I go on. At least as she inches deeper into pride and denial. Because when she falls from that height, it's going to not be pretty. It's still very much a part of the character, but she's trying harder to hide it and seem all light and innocent. Especially when she accepts Allie as her companion/assistant because then, she'd be constantly trying to show off (even in just to a friend).

And I really should be careful as to what I listen to write to. I think by listening to Journey of the Sorcerer by The Eagles, I've made up a scene that's almost the texture of cotton candy (most of the chapter was fluffy). Also, it seems that 13 doesn't quite like bananas (which will make her annoyed and/or sad).

Things should be picking up in the next chapter or two (it might even be pretty long with everything happening at once). It's definitely my intention for 13 to be a bit of a chessmaster (and being able to play speed chess when things get bad). I'm trying to make 13 to have qualities from previous Doctors and not let her be a female 10. She definitely has got talkative loon down pat. (Also, I seem to have turned Allie into a troper… what have I done? The last thing I need is a self-aware character who will point out how everything is just a poorly re-written/reimagined version of another work and will pick at every cliché and trope under the sun!)

Stay awesome, everyone!

~Gregora


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

The Ploy

"Here we go," the criminal said amiably as they reached a park like area where Allie knew she had been when she was with the Doctor.

"This is extremely interesting," the Doctor said, making both Allie and the criminal jump as they hadn't seen the Doctor sitting on a park bench's back, her legs dangling off the back as she faced the two.

Allie saw no anger on the Doctor's face. Just curiosity and sheer jovial mania. The face the Doctor used when she wanted to seem all friendly. Perhaps the Doctor really was friendly. She'd seen the alien use that same expression when dealing with her and people who she had just introduced herself to. The Doctor leaped from the bench to land on her feet before walking to the criminal.

The criminal had taken the disguise of a rather normal seeming humanoid male. Skin a hair's breadth away from fair with scars littering his face. His hair was long and brown, looking much like silk as it ran wild and free. Eyes the same brown and seemingly large for his eyelids.

"You could have chosen to kill her. Either because that's what you and your people do or as a message to me," the Doctor said, retaining her friendly and jovial air as she spoke lightly, "and you didn't, which is rather odd. I'd like to assume, seeing as how you're clearly on the run from your own people, that you took my friend Allie off somewhere to have a little chat. Most likely why you're on the run and why you'd want my mercy. Which is really something considering that your people don't even know how to spell mercy, let alone what it is. That is why you're on the run, isn't it?"

"How?" the criminal choked out.

"To be absolutely frank, you're not all that great at the whole sneaking bit. Maybe when you're dealing with that hunting party, but not me. I saw you following us. You were far too uptight and nervous to blend in. Besides, I could smell you and your people from half a mile away. Did your people ever learned how to bathe? Honestly?"

"Doctor!" Allie exclaimed, punching the alien on the upper arm.

"Yes? Ow! Could you hit me any harder?" the Doctor asked, rubbing her arm as she saw Allie lift her fist, "Not literally!"

"Can we please get on task?" Allie asked.

"Right. Yes," the Doctor said, clearing her throat, "it was a mix of you being noticeable and the fact that it would be the only reason you'd leave Niarlan territory is to get away from it all and hope that the hunting parties would be obvious in their methods of obtaining you to the point of basically being a red flag to the authorities. Which meant that you had to put innocent people between you and them."

"Do you expect me to surrender?"

"No, not really. You see, it's because everyone's got self-preservation instincts," the Doctor stated, "but you had your claws in this pie too. I should try some later. Anyway, the point is that you're not completely innocent in this. You caused innocents to be exposed to danger. Well, more danger than they normally would be exposed to. I think that I should really apologize for what I'm about to do, but I don't think I will."

"Doctor, stop it!" Allie exclaimed, putting herself between the Doctor and the criminal, "I'm not letting you do anything rash!"

"I'm not being rash," the Doctor said, walking up to Allie and then attempted to walk around the girl, "let me past."

"Not until you tell me what you're going to do," Allie stated.

"Like we have the time," the Doctor stated, trying to get by again before sighing, "you're really serious, aren't you? Okay, fine. Do you really think you should get all sorts of friendly with this big dog?"

"I'm starting to think that he'd be a better friend than you!" Allie exclaimed.

The Doctor stepped back. _You've done it now! You've gone and went way too far. _She rubbed her left forearm with her right hand as she looked elsewhere for a moment before taking a deep breath. Sliding her hands into the pockets of the canvas jacket, she walked around the two, keeping a distance before walking down the walkway. _You can stop trying to avoid becoming attached, you jerk! Just because you're trying to avoid further pain, it doesn't give you a right to pull something like that! _She kept walking, not caring if Allie and the Niarlan criminal were following her. Outside of the strand of thought which was that if those two were following along, it would make everything so much easier.

She quickly found the familiar blue box and pulled out her key and slipped it into the lock before entering. She had no reason to lock the doors as of yet as she walked into the console room to sit down on one of the jump seats. She couldn't stop beating herself over how she'd gone and made a mess of things as she heard the doors open. She slid on the same manic grin as she jumped back onto her feet, seeing that Allie had brought along the Niarlan criminal.

"Good thinking, Allie!" she exclaimed happily before pulling out her sonic and using it to engage the door locks.

"What did you do?" Allie asked.

"Engaged the door locks. Now, next to nothing can break their way in," the Doctor said with a grin as she made her way to the communications systems.

"What do you have planned?" Allie asked.

"The same thing I planned to do," the Doctor said, "which is this."

With that, she picked up a handset which was attached to the console and messed with some buttons and switches before starting to speak, "Hello, Niarlan hunting party! By now, you know that I have the one thing you're looking for and all of you are most likely descending on my little blue box."

The Doctor stopped to take a breath as everyone could hear the firing of weapons and various other attempts to get in, none of which made the doors move. Allie looked at the Doctor who was grinning like a maniac, enjoying what she was doing. This made no sense between what the alien seemed to have intended to do and what she was doing. Did the alien go out of her way to avoid making sense?

"Oh right, my little blue box… it isn't exactly a little blue box. But," the Doctor said, drawing out the last word before obviously trying to turn her speech of sorts into a performance, "if you want to find your little criminal, come and get 'em! He's just standing in here! What are you waiting for? Come right in!"

The Doctor gave her a madcap grin, cementing the idea that the alien was definitely severely lacking in sanity. They could hear all efforts to get in intensify, which made the Doctor chuckle. It was then that something prickled at the back of her neck as she watched the Doctor as the alien covered the microphone with her palm, grinning as if she was being told the funniest joke ever heard. She was enjoying the whole event. It was not unlike a human holding a dog treat outside the dog's reach. And that dog was never getting the treat. It seemed cruel of the Doctor to lord over everyone the fact that her ship was probably the most advanced craft in the universe.

"Doctor, this is hardly fair," Allie stated evenly, "I don't think they could get in."

The Doctor's grin widened to almost Cheshire Cat levels before saying in a wavering tone, obviously holding in the laughter, "they can't. That's the joke. I'm holding the dog treat right where the dog can't get to it, but the dog doesn't know!"

"Stop it, Doctor," Allie stated, glaring at the Doctor, who visibly soured.

"You really love killing the mood," the alien said with a sigh before going back on the handset, "Time's up!"

She slammed the handset back down where it was resting before running around the console, going through the usual dematerialization sequence, sparing a moment to grin at the liquid in the time rotor, which was starting to create a tornado in the cylinder.

"Wha-what is this place?" the Niarlan criminal asked, "it's bigger on the inside!"

"I love it when people say that!" the Doctor shouted in glee from the console as the ship seemed to settle, "welcome to the TARDIS. Stands for Time and Relative Dimension in Space."

The moment the Doctor left the console to stand with Allie and the criminal, Allie punched her in the upper arm.

"What?! That hurt! Not only is it the same exact spot – nice aim, by the way… and nice arm there – I'm pretty sure that was harder than the last one!"

"That was for nearly trying to give him up to the hunting party!" Allie nearly screeched, causing the Doctor to start laughing, "It isn't a laughing matter, Doctor!"

"Right," the Doctor said, clearing her throat before straightening herself out, "I had to lead the two of you on like that since we were under observation. I'd hoped that they'd see you dragging their goal along and would wait until I hand over their objective or try to snatch him from me. So I was under the assumption that the two of you would follow me right back into the TARDIS. Once they see that the TARDIS had seemingly disappear, they would assume that the TARDIS had merely shifted location in three dimensions instead of four or more. Did you honestly think I'd condemn the first noble Niarlan in existence to death?"

"You mean you planned this?" Allie asked, glaring daggers at the Doctor.

"I couldn't warn you because I didn't want to arouse suspicion," the Doctor said before running up to the console, pulling levers, pushing buttons, and flipping switches seemingly at random, "How do you feel about the Thirtieth Century? Yeah, that should work just fine. Perhaps Prene. Oh, yes. Definitely Prene. It's no Niarla, but it's close. Especially with the rebel Niarlans setting up shop in the vast catacombs stretching across one of the main continents. I don't suppose your name would be Klinth."

"How…how do you know my name?" the Niarlan criminal asked over the rising din.

"Lucky guess," the Doctor said, continuing to run around the console in glee, "Twenty-Ninth Century Prene, here we come! Andale!"

With that, the TARDIS seemed to tilt at a rather awkward angle as the time rotor made its grinding noise. After a moment, the TARDIS seemed to level off until it tilted at yet another rather awkward angle, obviously the result of over-correcting. Allie couldn't help but to grin to herself as she could hear the Doctor's excited and gleeful shouts over the din. Sometimes, the Time Lady seemed to be just a big child or just a really immature and fun-loving adult. But she could see that the alien could wind up being cruel to others just for laughs and that bothered her. Suddenly, the TARDIS jolted to a level angle with a sudden force that she found herself sitting on the floor. She looked over to Klinth, seeing that he was laying on the floor, seemingly curled up.

"What are you two doing on the floor like that?" the Doctor asked, looking down at the human and the Niarlan in a shimmer suit as she seemed to lack the ability to stay still for a second, "Twenty-ninth Century Prene's waiting!"

"I think I'm gonna be sick," Klinth groaned.

"Not on my floor!" the Doctor exclaimed, "the doors should be unlocked."

Allie barely registered the Niarlan move as he bolted out of the TARDIS to heave his last meal onto some wildflowers which hadn't expected to be buried in vomit. Of course, they couldn't expect anything because they lacked sentience. Allie stood up as the Doctor waited for her to walk out before joining them.

"We're on another world in another time!" Klinth exclaimed.

"It is a time traveling space ship. Or maybe it's a space faring time ship. I've yet to figure that out," the Doctor admitted, her tone light and relaxed, "you okay?"

"I think so," Klinth stated.

"Good," the Doctor said before saying, "it was nice meeting you, Klinth."

"I guess this is good-bye," Allie said with a smile as the Doctor turned toward the TARDIS.

"Doctor," Klinth called out, causing the Time Lady to pause and turn to the dog-like alien, "you're much different than my people's legends said you were like. You truly are merciful."

The Doctor merely nodded before slipping into the TARDIS silently.

"She doesn't seem very talkative," Klinth stated.

"She seems to go from one extreme to the next without settling for a happy medium," Allie stated.

"Sounds like she's quite the project," Klinth said with a chuckle, "she needs someone. Even if it's a friend. That much I can tell."

Allie nodded, "I noticed. Well, good luck, Klinth."

"Good luck to you as well," Klinth stated with a smile as Allie slid into the TARDIS, closing the doors gently behind her.

She watched as the Doctor started going through the usual motions of getting the TARDIS to their next destination.

"Doctor?" she called out over the din.

"Yeah?" the Doctor asked in response.

"Why did you know Klinth's name let alone where and when to drop him off?"

"He becomes quite the figure for his people in the early Thirtieth Century," the Doctor stated, "he leads the reformation of his people and their ways. It's yet another bloody battle, but a necessary one to allow for new growth and prosperity. He unites the tribes of the Niarlan, teaching them that the strongest tribe is the one where everyone's involved and a member of it. He starts his work towards that very future on Prene, saying that he was led there by a powerful, mysterious force outside of his understanding which inspired him to do what he is to do. Nice to know I could inspire the unity of a very fractured race. Makes me think that not everything I do causes unnecessary pain and grief. It's nice."

With that, the TARDIS landed and the Doctor walked to the door. Her pace was much slower, as if she was trying to stave off the future. She couldn't see the Doctor's face as the alien walked past her. When the doors opened and the Doctor stepped aside, she could see her house. The house had a repaired roof and only the porch light was on in the darkness. She turned to face the Doctor, who was giving her an almost heart-wrenching sad expression.

"Too long," the Doctor said, not looking at Allie, "you asked me how long I've been traveling alone. I promised I'd answer that question later. Just like I promised to take you home. And here we are, you're home, only days after we left and you're safe and sound."

"But, Doctor –" Allie started to say.

"You told me that you have second thoughts about traveling with me. And that our Niarlan friend makes a better friend than I do," the Doctor said, rubbing her left forearm with her right hand as she avoided eye-contact, "and you deserve a much better friend than the mean old Doctor."

"Why did you stop traveling with others?" Allie asked.

"Enemies targeted them to get to me. Well, I suppose the majority of the reason rests with the fact that in the end, after all's said and done, it always ends with me alone in the TARDIS. After a while, it just seems pointless and masochistic. I forgot the real reason I have people around."

"Which is?" Allie prodded.

"I may admit that I talk far too much and give myself an earache. I may even say that the TARDIS gets too quiet. I may even go so far as to say that I've lost all wonder for the universe and seeing it on someone else's face is enough to rekindle that wonder. They're all the truth, but there's a deeper truth I like to ignore. If left to my own devices, I can become unintentionally cruel and I become a bigger danger to myself and the universe than I currently am. And I hate to admit it, but the universe gets pretty lonely."

"I haven't changed my mind, Doctor. I'm coming. I don't care how much I have to punch you or scream at you, but you need me around," Allie stated.

"I'd rather you don't," the Doctor muttered before asking, "why are you so dead set on coming along from the beginning anyways?"

"It's not every day when I make friends with an alien who travels through space and time in a… big blue box. Of course I still want to see everything there is to see," Allie said with a smile.

"You're sure?" the Doctor asked, looking uncertain as her head jerked up to watch Allie's reaction.

"Yeah. I'm sure," Allie replied with a nod.

"Then let's go see everything! Andale!" the Doctor exclaimed in glee before running to the console with a squeal of delight as Allie closed the door, "right. Forgot to give you the most important thing you'll ever have."

"Which is?" Allie asked as the Doctor stopped, only ten feet away.

"This," the Doctor said, tossing a small metal object underhanded to Allie.

She caught the small metal object by cupping her hands, opening them to reveal a key.

"It's a key to the TARDIS," the Doctor said with a smile, "not only does it unlock the door but if the TARDIS isn't near you in time and space, it would cause it to materialize nearby by just holding it out."

"Do you give everyone a key?" Allie asked.

"Just those I plan to travel with for the long-term," the Doctor said with a smile, "welcome to the TARDIS. There's a bedroom out there with your name on it. The TARDIS will guide you to it."

"Thanks," Allie said, giving the alien a hug.

"What's that for?" the Doctor asked, "not that I ever will turn down a hug, but I'm starting to expect getting hit more often than being hugged."

"That's why," Allie said before walking passed the alien towards the TARDIS corridors.

"Women," the Doctor muttered under her breath.

"You're one too and don't forget it!" Allie exclaimed before leaving the console room behind.

The Doctor moved to sit on a jump seat and rested her feet on the console until she realized that her legs just weren't short enough. With a sigh, she decided to sit normally on the seat and glower at the console for being so far from the jump seat. Somewhere, she could almost hear laughing aimed at her.

Author's Note: 3/12/13

So I knocked out another chapter and boy was this one long. I hope someone out there is enjoying this (apparently more people are reading this than my first Doctor Who fic when I was still constantly updating it). Anyways, I have quite the adventure coming up which will explain just what happened to cause the Doctor to regenerate from 12 to 13. And I'll be bringing in a villain from the classic series (I've yet to see any portrayals of this villain so I know I'll screw up the characterization). I also wrote out a text "teaser trailer" for the next adventure (it will follow this short Author's Note). It's going to be fun!

Stay tuned!

~ Gregora

**Next time on Unlucky Thirteen:**

Thirteen walks into a dimly lit room, not much can be seen in the room apart from the TARDIS corridors behind her before the doors close. She starts off grinning before looking worried. The room is empty aside from the normal bedroom furnishings. It's a rather Spartan room, as it lacks character or warmth.

"Now where have you gone to?" she asks, curious as she ventures through the door.

Allie walks through the corridors of the TARDIS, unaware of a shadowy figure following her from behind corners. She turns around.

"I thought that there was someone following me earlier… in the corridors. What's going on?" Allie asks as she enters the TARDIS control room and the Doctor is sitting on jump seats, reading a book.

The Doctor closes the book and sets it down next to her before jumping off the chair to land in a standing position.

"There is someone in the TARDIS. Don't worry, the old girl will keep you safe. Sides, due to my rule on weapons, all he has to harm us with is his bare hands," the Doctor said, trying to reassure Allie before pausing and adding, "except that he isn't a bear. Which I guess is a plus."

"Who or what is he?" Allie asked as the Doctor walked to her and put her hands on the human girl's shoulder.

"There's one thing I need you to understand. This is important," the Doctor said, making eye contact and ensuring that she was on eye-level with Allie before saying, "the TARDIS is carrying the two most dangerous beings in the universe. One of them's running around the corridor, trying to get to us. The TARDIS will keep him running in circles until he gives up and goes back to his room."

"You're not dangerous, Doctor."

"You'll be surprised."

The Doctor walks through the corridors, unfazed. Her steps are slow and casual. Footsteps are heard, a shadowy figure is seen watching the Doctor.

"Oi! You can come out now, you know! You can stop being all so creepy and all about your little theatrics!" the Doctor shouts.

A man walks out, dressed up in an outfit of silk and velvet. He has a wine glass in his hand and takes a sip. His auburn hair is short and slicked back. He seems to be no older than thirty at most and looks every bit the fancy gentleman.

"You seem to have found the wardrobe room," she stated before giving a look at the wine glass, "as well as the wine cellar."

"One of them," he states off-handedly, "this seemed to have aged beautifully. I'm afraid that I can't say the same about you."

"And you can just shut it," she stated, glaring at him, "least you got one regeneration left."

"Yes, that is an advantage that I have," he stated, his tone relaxed as he takes a sip of his cup.

Allie and the Doctor are in the console room.

The power goes off and the Doctor shouts, "Really? Really? Oh, he's clever! I don't like it. I don't like it that he's as clever as I am!"

"Who and what is he?" Allie asks, turning to look at the Doctor in the dim console room, "Tell me. Now! You've been keeping him a secret and I demand answers!"

"He's a shadow," the Doctor stated with a frown, "nothing more."

"So he's harmless."

"Anyone who claims to be harmless is a liar."

"She doesn't trust you, does she, dear girl?" the man asks, drinking from his wine glass, "it's because her fear is stronger. She fears the future, her immanent death, and losing you if she were to ever tell you the truth."

"How do you know so much about the Doctor?" Allie asks the man, "and why does she keep you locked up in the TARDIS?"


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

The Imposing Darkness

The TARDIS materialized in the middle of what appeared to be a rather large room with massive windows, looking out at the city which was entirely self-contained as the local star shone into the room, only impeded by the planet's atmosphere, slight clouds, and differently colored glass which had a rather abstract pattern of blues and greens. The door opened and the Doctor walked out.

When I say 'the Doctor', I mean the previous regeneration, a middle-aged man who walked with a slight limp and used a cane with a metal sphere on the top. He wore a bowler hat with red silk trim over his brushed-back brown hair. He wore a tail coat which was just this side of crimson with a pocket watch tucked into an outer pocket. The coat hung open to show the red silk vest which was over a pale blue shirt and he had a black neck tie. He wore loose slacks and on his feet were a pair of dress shoes.

He looked around, acting very much the curious sightseer as he was approached by the local inhabitants. They were humanoid but only just, with limbs which seemed very disproportionate with their bodies. Long limbs and short, stocky bodies which lacked mammalian differences between gender, making it very hard to tell the difference at first glance. All of them were smiling peaceful, genuinely happy smiles. He couldn't help but to show the same courtesy of returning the greeting.

"You are a visitor," one of the aliens said, walking up to him before kneeling down, making him realize that their limbs had an extra joint.

"Yes. I'm called The Doctor," he stated as he took off his hat in respect and gave a stiff bow of greeting, "I'm merely a tourist, touring the universe."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Doctor. Welcome to Annoin," the alien said, her voice sounding vaguely female.

Suddenly, the Doctor was strapped to a chair as the Annoin people started to strap what appeared to be probes to his forehead. He struggled against the straps.

"Don't do this! Please," he pleaded with the people, "not only do you have no clue what could happen considering the difference in biology, but you'll be unleashing a horror upon the universe! A horror that is beyond anything that the universe has spawned as of yet! Don't do this!"

"We are fixing you, Doctor," the Annoin scientist said kindly, "we are doing you a favor."

It didn't take long for the scientists to be ready and the machine started with a howl. He could feel whole areas of his mind, his personality, and his awareness starting to be pulled away as he tried to mentally fight the effects of the machine. Before too long, the machine stopped with a belch of smoke. He wasn't too sure if it was entirely because of any of his actions or if it was because of his Time Lord biology. He didn't want to stick around to find out.

The TARDIS shook with a deafening sound, causing the Doctor to jump out of her bed and land onto her feet. It took a few moments to realize that the TARDIS shaking and the sound had been a part of her dream. With a sigh, she resigned herself to the idea that she was going to be awake until she grew tired again. She knew she had only been asleep for an hour, only half of the usual amount of time that Time Lords slept. The dream, to her knowledge, was a memory of what had happened and there was something about it that bothered her, ate at her.

She was walking through the TARDIS corridors when she felt her whole body spasm, sending her to the floor. She could feel both of her hearts beat as if they were trying to explode from her chest as her head throbbed. '_Not again. I kept it from happening twice already, I can keep it from happening a third,_' she thought to herself as another voice echoed through her mind. _'Do you honestly believe you could contain me? I know you know who and what I am, my dear Doctor. And we both know that this is meant to happen. Are you trying to fight fate? What about those precious laws of time you hold dear?' _

"I'm not going to argue with myself," the Doctor grunted to herself as she slowly forced herself to stand.

"Doctor?" Allie asked, walking around a corridor, "who are you talking to?"

"Myself, for the most part," the Doctor replied with a smile that felt fake to her, "shouldn't you be asleep, Allie?"

"I was just heading to my bedroom from the kitchen," Allie stated before asking, "are you okay? You seem pale."

"I'm fine, Allie," she replied, "I'll see you in the morning when you wake up."

'_My dear Doctor, it seems as though you're a touch attached to your little human pet. I know you haven't told her everything. Is that fear I sense within you? Oh, this will be fun,' _she heard the voice, sounding positively happy. '_I believe humans have a term that you fill very well,_' she thought at the voice in her head as she headed towards a secluded room, as far from the console room as she could get. '_And that would be?'_ the voice asked, curious. '_Hammy.'_

The pounding in her head was growing worse. She didn't know how long she could fight it. '_You shouldn't be able to do this! I've already regenerated. There's no way!'_ she thought to herself. '_You didn't notice? Oh this is rich. The Doctor who think she knows everything, who thinks she could out plan any living being and you failed to notice one important thing! You are the best entertainment I've ever had!' 'I'm the only entertainment you've ever had.'_

It felt as if her body was being torn to pieces, a feeling that she couldn't admit to being unfamiliar to her. She started to run, she needed to get as far from everyone and everything as she could. She could tell that the corridors were changing in front of her, a sign that the TARDIS was helping her. _'Nice to know that you've got my back, old girl.'_ Another tremor sent her flying onto the floor, sliding to a complete stop on her front. She was starting to feel weak as she lifted her head, seeing a door right next to her.

"This is going to have to be good enough," she grunted as she clambered into the room and closed the door, leaning against the door as she slid into a standing position.

'_And now, my dear Doctor, it's time for us to part ways. I just hope you'll be as entertaining to me as you've been up until now,'_ the voice stated before her entire body convulsed as a golden light lit up the room and the pain hit a crescendo, causing her to let out a scream of agony as she could almost feel her body splitting into two. She didn't know how long she lasted, fighting against the pain and the darkness when she lost consciousness.

Author's Note 3/13/13

Okay, so I think I may have ruined the surprise as to who the baddie for this adventure is. I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy writing him. He's just made of ham and I just love writing hammy characters who act like they know something that the protagonists don't. This guy is just going to be so much fun in the later chapters. I will warn everyone now that everything I know about Doctor Who is entirely based on Nash's Doctor Who reviews, what I managed to find on the TARDIS Data Core, and the episodes I've seen on Netflix, and the episodes from Nine on. Oh and the Big Finish Eighth Doctor series (which I'm enjoying immensely).

I'd also like to take some time out of this to thank Storme22's review. I honestly feel honored that you think that 13 is an amazing regeneration. I'm trying to draw on the previous Doctors while throwing in new quirks and flaws. It's nice to know that I'm doing pretty good in ensuring that she doesn't become a Mary Sue. I hope you'll continue to enjoy the story.

Also, I'm kicking around the idea of having a small part of the Author's Note at the end of the chapters (or even as just between-chapters extras) as a sort of Q & A for the various characters in the story. Half to include you guys on things and half as a character building exercise. Plus, it'd be funny. What do you guys think?

Stay tuned and stay awesome!

~Gregora


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

The Living Shadow

"I do believe you're waking up, Doctor," a man stated, sounding very amused by the situation.

"How?" she croaked, still groggy and waking up, her eyes still blurred by exhaustion.

"Oh, come now, dear Doctor," the man said with a chuckle, "do you think I'd tell you? It's so very complicated that I would be talking for whole minutes. We know how you like to try to bide your time until you form an idea that you try to pass off as a plan."

"It was worth a try," she stated with a resigned chuckle, still feeling tired and exhausted, "I'm never going to do that again. Well, to be fair, I won't be able to do that again. Mix of not enough regeneration energy and lacking a darker side. Least it's a bit of a weight off my shoulders."

"And now comes the prattling," the man said with a dour tone, "do you even have the ability to keep your mouth shut?"

"Oh, I have the ability," she replied lightly, "I just choose not to exercise it."

"We are at a rather interesting position, are we not?" the man asked, bending down to look at the Doctor, whose vision was clearing.

"I hope the position you're thinking of has nothing to do with two little facts. One involving each of us. Considering that you're the amalgamation of everything I hate about me, it would never happen," she stated, "besides, think of the kids."

"The position I'm referring to is the fact that I know you're above killing me. You'd want to try to save me. Make me better. And we both know who and what I am, yet we haven't been formally introduced since my… birth," the man stated with a smile, "I'm the Valeyard. Nice to meet you, Doctor."

"And I know what you want, Valeyard," she stated, forcing herself to stand, "the sad thing is, I don't have any regenerations left to give you. The tank's running on empty. And you know what will and must happen if you were to be brought to the Gallifrey of the past. My sixth self really did a number on you."

"That's why I think I'll just have my fun in the here and now. Our close friend the Master certainly found a multitude of methods to just keep coming back after the limit," the Valeyard stated with a smile, "but unlike him, it would simply be no fun in ruling everything. Too much work, micromanagement, and annoyance. No, I think large explosions spanning all of reality, planet by planet is more fun than conquering."

"Like I'd ever let you out of the TARDIS," she stated, "and like she'd let you out. Oh, you can run around her corridors, but I trust her to keep you well away from Allie and the control rooms."

"It would be just a matter of time until I get bored. Do you honestly want that to happen?" the Valeyard asked, "we both know how clever I am."

"I could just eject you from the TARDIS," the Doctor said calmly before frowning.

"Which one of us is the holder of the darkness, hmm? You're considering killing me. I know you are. You even delighted in teasing and tormenting lower species. You were trying hard not to laugh at them and their many, failed attempts to get into the TARDIS. I'm starting to wonder if I'm the real Doctor and you're the Valeyard."

"You're just trying to confuse me, Valeyard," she stated, glaring at the man, "because I know two very important things. One, you were saying things about turning all of reality into one big explosion, one big fireball of epic proportions. Two, I am the Doctor. I stand for the oppressed. I stand for those who want and need help. I stand against the monsters that prey upon the innocent. And above all else, I will do what I can to make everything better than it was when I came crashing down."

"Or maybe you're just saying that because it makes you feel better. Who's evil, the one who just wants to see things explode or the one threatening to eject little old me into the vacuum of space?"

"I refuse to doubt myself," she stated, leaving the room and sending a mental plea to the TARDIS to keep him away from everything sensitive and alive except for when she wants to check up on the madman.

When she entered the console room, she felt more like herself. She feared and hated everything that the Valeyard was. And yet, she doubted that nothing could spring from her which didn't have even the smallest speck of goodness within them. She knew that due to the trial on Gallifrey, the version of the Valeyard which she had faced in her sixth self had come from a different timeline. Which meant that the version that came from her is a completely different being than the one which had been vanquished. And maybe, just maybe, she could just fix him and make him better.

She was still thinking when she felt something touch her upper arm. She jumped and turned around to see Allie, standing there and giving her a worried look. She merely gave the girl a wide grin. Any doubts she had that she was the actual Doctor was wiped away that moment. Because the Valeyard wouldn't have assistants or companions. He would destroy. And she would always protect.

"I asked if you were okay," Allie stated.

"I'm fine," she stated before laughing, "better than ever! What do you think about Shece. A planet that is a mall. That is what girls do, right? Shop? Can't say that I'm even remotely interested in that, though."

"Something's wrong," Allie stated before taking on a horrified expression with a gasp, "are you dying?"

"What? I'm not dying! Just thought to ask you for what kind of things you want to go see and do and naturally, I thought that you'd want to go shopping. I know how some girls are like. Give them an infinite credchip and they'll find a way to break the bank…"

"You're acting a bit odd. Is there something wrong?" Allie asked.

"There was," she stated lightly, "it's horribly complicated and I don't quite understand how. I do understand the why. Barely. I think."

"What happened?" Allie asked.

"It's nothing, I assure you," the Doctor said, "the TARDIS doesn't have any weapons in her and she'll keep us safe."

"You're hiding something. Again! Why is it that you keep hiding things from me?"

"The more you know, the more danger you'll be exposed to. Plus, I figure that if I keep the worst from you, there's less of a chance that you'd panic and neither of us wants you to panic."

"Then maybe you can keep me from panicking by telling me what's going on," Allie stated.

"It's nothing," the Doctor said, "you could say that I'm in lighter spirits now. Where do you want to go?"

"To get you to see a shrink," Allie stated.

"I'm not insane!" the Doctor exclaimed.

"You don't even trust me, do you?" Allie asked.

"Take a look at that key I gave you. Remember what I said about it. Ask yourself if I'd give something that precious to someone I don't trust," the Doctor stated.

"But you refuse to tell me what's bothering you!"

"There are things out there that are almost outside my grasp of understanding. This is one of them. Now, keep in mind just how much more knowledgeable and clever I am compared to most of the universe. That's what's going on. Something big and complicated and I don't even know how. But we're safe. I locked the door and that should be enough."

"Give your ego a rest!" Allie exclaimed, "I think I need a break from you!"

With that, Allie ran into the corridors, causing the Doctor to let out a sigh as she sat down on a jump seat and pulled a paperback novel from her jacket pocket. She knew that Allie just needed to calm down. She wondered if she should've told Allie about the Valeyard but then shrugged. The Valeyard was harmless as long as he was locked in that room. There was just no way he could break out of one of the TARDIS' rooms. Until Allie returned and picked their next destination, she resolved to just sit and wait while reading the book. It should keep her mind occupied for the time being at least.

Author's Note 3/13/13

So, this is the second chapter written today, mostly because I finished my homework before I wrote the previous chapter. So yeah, I pretty much announced the baddie which I'm starting to doubt that he'd be a one-shot character. I could see 13 weaponize the crazy guy who loves explosions. Oh and how she would manipulate the crazy madman. And the scary thing is she threatened to eject the Valeyard from the TARDIS not out of sheer anger or hatred but to warn him that if he proves to be too much of a risk, she would do so for the greater good. It wasn't out of sheer evilness, but just practicality. She just seems to be a fairly practical girl.

And I just love how the Valeyard took some of 13's way of speaking since he was a part of her and to drive home how he was always right under the surface up until the end of the last chapter. Of course, a driving part of how I'm doing the Valeyard is a mix of foreknowledge of his possible fate mixed with an intrinsic part of the Doctor that he had gained this time around – the desire to have fun. I'll probably throw some Dream Lord into the Valeyard, but right now, he's just so much fun. A sophisticated baddie who just wants to have fun… by creating the largest explosion ever.

I fear for everyone if or when 13 learns how to pull his strings and use him as an explosion waiting to happen. Because, going off how she seems to be practical, if it's easier and more practical to toss Mr. Mushroom-cloud-waiting-to-happen into a problem, she would. It would mean that two forces of evil gets killed in one explosion. Worse, she might go "hey, these guys want to detonate this place. Do you want them to blow this place up before you could?" O_O My mind is terrifying. 13, stop being creepy!

Stay tuned and stay awesome!

~Gregora


	15. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

The Weight of Secrets

Allie walked through the TARDIS corridors, wanting to calm down. Something moved on the edge of her peripheral vision. She couldn't make it out. She half wanted to know what it was and half didn't. The Doctor had mentioned that she locked whatever it was away. She started to wonder what it was and if it had got out. She stood still, waiting to hear footsteps, but hearing none. She was more than willing to admit that she wasn't angry any more. She was more spooked now than before as she walked back to the console room.

"Calmed down already?" the Doctor asked from her seat as she flipped a page, "I was fully expecting it to take you a touch longer. So, where do you want to go?"

"Just that… I thought that there was someone following me just now… in the corridors," Allie said, sounding spooked before asking, "What's going on? I have a right to know, Doctor. I need to know."

The Doctor closes the paperback novel she'd been reading slowly and set it on the seat next to her before jumping off the seat to stand. She walked over to the human girl who looked rather scared. She knew she had to tell her something, if only to keep her calm. If Allie were to be calm-ish, she knew that Allie would be safer as she wouldn't do anything stupid in terror. She stopped so that there was a few feet between the two of them.

"As I said before, there's someone in the TARDIS. Don't worry, the old girl will keep you safe. Sides, due to my rule on weapons, all he has to harm us with is his bare hands," the Doctor said, trying to reassure Allie before pausing and adding, "except that he isn't a bear. Which I guess is a plus."

"Who or what is he?" Allie asked as the Doctor closed the distance between them and placed her hands on the human girl's shoulder.

"There's one thing I need you to understand, Allie. This is important," the Doctor said, making eye contact and ensuring that she was on eye-level with Allie before saying, "the TARDIS is carrying the two most dangerous beings in the universe. One of them's running around the corridor, trying to get to us. The TARDIS will keep him running in circles until he gives up and goes back to his room."

"And I'm to assume the other's you?" Allie asked, looking into the alien's eyes before the alien withdrew, putting distance between them.

"There's a reason why my most feared enemies called me 'the Oncoming Storm', 'the Destroyer of Worlds', and other such names. I've lost count as to the number of genocides I'm responsible for, the number of worlds have been turned into dust and gravel. And the number of lives I've completely ruined by just being in them. Worse, a large number of those lives were those who traveled with me."

"That may be so, but I'd like to think I know you," Allie said, giving the alien a stubborn look, "You're not dangerous, Doctor. You have the heart of a hero, even if that terrifies you."

"I'm no hero," the Doctor said quietly, "I used to think so."

"Oh, don't pull that with me!" Allie exclaimed angrily, following the Doctor with annoyed footsteps, "I've seen how you act the moment anyone has a problem. You enjoy helping others. You get a kick out of risking yourself for the sake of others. If that doesn't make anyone into a hero, I don't know what will! Now, stop pitying yourself!"

The Doctor turned to Allie with a smile, "I need to be set straight once in a while. Thanks. For the mean time, I need you to stay in this room. If he's gotten free, she'll keep you safe. I know she will."

The Doctor was almost at the entrance to the corridors when Allie called out, "what are you going to do?"

"Make sure he didn't get free!" the Doctor exclaimed before running into the corridor with a grin on her face.

As she ran, she could tell that the TARDIS was helping her as the corridors shifted seemingly at random. She sent thoughts of gratitude towards her ship and most stalwart of companions. '_What'll I be without you, old girl?'_ She came to the room which she knew was the room that she'd left the Valeyard in. The door was open by a crack and she pushed the wooden door which creaked, revealing the dark room. The room was set up much like a master bedroom – a sleeping area with the proper furnishings and an adjoining bathroom. She stepped further into the dark room, looking around. She didn't want to open herself up to a surprise attack waiting behind a corner or a door.

Within moments, she knew that he'd gone.

"Now where have you gone to?" she asked to the empty room, mostly to kick her brain into full gear.

'_If I was the manifestation of my darkest part of who I am, where would I go first?'_ she asked herself as she walked out of the room. _'Well, I'd definitely not wander around wanting to blow up whole universes while in nothing but my birthday suit,' _she thought to herself as she started to walk through the corridors again.

She saw something out of the corner of her eye, causing her to stop. She heard a second pair of footsteps stopping, just a fraction of a second off from her. She knew that she was followed, but half wanting to see if he'd keep up the routine when she jumped four times and acted like she was going to jump a fifth time. Each time, just a fraction of a second after her. She spun around and grinned.

"Oi! You can come out now, you know! You can stop being all so creepy and all about your little theatrics!" the Doctor shouted out to the corridor.

The Valeyard walked out from his hiding spot, dressed up. His short auburn hair which looked almost a mess when she'd last seen him was slicked back. He wore brown leather boots, rather fancy purple slacks which had pinstripes of a darker purple on them, a pale blue dress shirt, and over it all, a dark red velvet vest. He smirked at the Doctor, watching her expression, which was almost a mirroring smirk. He took a sip from the glass of wine from his hand as he watched the Doctor.

"You seem to have found the wardrobe room," she stated before giving a look at the wine glass, "as well as the wine cellar."

"One of them," he said off-handedly after swallowing his sip of the wine, "this seemed to have aged beautifully. I'm afraid that I can't say the same about you."

"And you can shut it. What are you doing prowling around my TARDIS? You scared Allie," she stated.

"Then my plan worked. She was easy to set on edge," he replied with a chuckle before saying, "and I doubt you've told her anything at all about me."

"Last thing I want is you to be anywhere near her. Who knows what you'll do to her. Probably use her for your own entertainment."

"Oh yes. The noble Doctor. You never change. Always hiding from your own emotions," he said, his words becoming biting, "why else would you have traveled with so many beautiful ladies? You just can't say no to them. Humans keep flowers in vases to appreciate beauty and you keep women. To oogle at."

"Stop it!" she exclaimed.

"And why should I? I'm enjoying watching you squirm," he said as he took a sip of wine, "especially over the fact that you have no clue what you should do. You're a girl now with all these masculine thoughts. Poor little Doctor. And now look at you, trying to resist the urge to give in and resort to violence."

"Only if you keep talking!"

"Seems to be something I got from you. You go nattering on too. But at least I stay on topic! Your mind's like a little five year old with the inability to focus. Always being distracted, going down meandering topics and tangents that make no sense."

"Is that all you're going to do? Ad hominem attacks? You're not that terrifying," the Doctor said, needling at the Valeyard, "you're just a fraction of me with no weapons and a lot of words."

"And I know everything you know."

"But the TARDIS will just keep you far away from anywhere sensitive."

"She didn't keep me away from Allie. Who knows, maybe the TARDIS likes me just as much."

"You do anything to her and I will make you regret ever existing. Even if you are the manifestation of my darkest thoughts, my darkest desires, there is one thing that is tied intrinsically to who I am."

"The fact that you just can't shut up?"

"No," the Doctor said, walking so that her face was inches from his as she went onto her tiptoes just to try to match his height, "the fact that my companions mean more to me than my own life and I will do everything I can to protect them. Even if I have to kill you to ensure their safety. Consider this your one and only warning. You mess with Allie in a way to cause her harm and you will wish I killed you when I had the chance."

"And there's the righteous fury and indignation," he stated with a laugh, I always wanted to see that on your face.

"I'll make sure the TARDIS keeps you in the area of your room," she stated as she walked away.

"The perfect prison for a Time Lord, eh?" he called out to her.

"There's no such thing," she said as she kept walking.

Author's Note 3/14/13

So, we've got the Doctor and the story's baddie trying to get a rise out of each other. Also, I'm working on a bit of the next adventure since this is being a bit slow (it'll get there). I had a dream last night and it featured a creature that I think it's become nightmare fuel for me. It's a creature whose diet is similar but opposite of the Weeping Angels. Where the Weeping Angels feed on potential energy, aka what will be, this thing feeds on the past – age, experience, memories. It converts the victim's personal timeline from that point and consumes their past. In effect, since it's personal, it doesn't have any side effects to everyone else but the victim, essentially ages them backwards. Until there seems to be nothing left.

The only reason it wasn't a nightmare because The Doctor was in it.

The real question is if I even want to use that beastie in the story and how timey-wimey I want to make it. After all, if it were to eat (or try to) a Time Lord and it effectively eats the victim's past and makes them age backwards, it would cause the Time Lord to de-regenerate as they lose the memories. Of course, it can't eat 1,000+ years of memories without the result being that Monty Python skit from Meaning of Life with the guy who ate too much and exploded.

Which is similar to what happened in the 8th Doctor radio drama called 'Phobos' where he killed a creature which fed on the fear that comes out of doing something exciting by throwing true fear at it until it died, specifically what he feared he was going to do in the Time War. The 10th Doctor did something similar in a comic to a creature which fed on pure emotion… by weaponizing his angst and sadness. There needs to be a plot where 9 kills a creature by just sassing it to death. Oh, that would be glorious. Or worse, have it be Donna.

Okay, I've prattled on enough.

Stay tuned and stay awesome!

~Gregora


	16. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

Everything is Scarier in the Dark

"So did he escape?" Allie asked as the Doctor entered the console room.

She quickly noticed how deflated the alien seemed to be as she stalked towards the console and started to do something. She couldn't tell what the alien was doing, but she could tell that it seemed to be important. It bothered her how the other girl seemed so serious and intent on doing what she was doing, almost like something was boiling just under her skin. And she didn't know what it was.

"Doctor?" Allie asked, trying to get her attention.

"Hmm?" the alien hummed in reply, giving a quick glance to the human before returning to her task.

"You were ignoring me," Allie stated.

"Yes, well, I'm trying to ensure that he won't be pulling anything while he's walking free around the TARDIS."

It was then that all the lights within the console room turned off, leaving red lights which served as emergency lighting, turning the liquid in the tubes red. It bothered Allie, seeing the TARDIS look almost demonic with the lighting as the blue liquid in all the transparent tubes and cylinders started to cast a red glow.

"Really?" the Doctor asked, sounding just mildly annoyed.

"Really?" the Doctor asked quickly afterwards, sounding more angry before saying, "oh, he's clever! I don't like it. I don't like it that he's as clever as I am!"

She then let out a trail of what Allie assumed to be curses in the Doctor's native language before giving the base of the console a rather sharp kick. She doubted that the Doctor thought just a single kick would fix whatever predicament they were now in. The Doctor seemed to visibly cool down with a deep breath. Now that the Doctor seemed to be calm, Allie needed answers from the alien and approached her.

"Who and what is he?" Allie asked, trying to get the Doctor to see her in the red lighting, "Tell me. Now! You've been keeping him a secret and I demand answers! You've been doing nothing but keeping secrets from me this whole time and it's gotten on my last nerve!"

"He's a shadow," the Doctor replied, looking Allie in the eyes before glancing away, "nothing more."

"So he's harmless?" Allie asked, clearly having equated shadow with incorporeal.

The Doctor's eyes snapped to hers quickly and she could see something deep within the blue depths, something that looked like a complete calm before she spoke, saying, "Anyone who claims to be harmless is a liar. Now, if you can wait here, I'm going to find out what he's done to the TARDIS and undo it. And then I'll make sure that he won't be troubling us again."

"Will I be safe here?" Allie asked, her voice suddenly more quiet, more vulnerable.

"Right now, being with me would most likely be more dangerous," the Doctor replied before running into the corridors.

Allie let out a sigh as she tried hard not to allow the lighting bother her. But deep down, she could almost imagine that the TARDIS was somehow wounded. That the ship itself was in some incredible pain. She hoped that it was just her imagination as she sat in one of the seats that peppered the console room.

It was then that she could hear the sound of footsteps approach. Calm and unhurried footsteps which pulled her out of her troubling thoughts. She raised her head to greet the Doctor, but instead, she faced a man. Fear welled in her heart at the sight of him, mostly because of what the Doctor had told her and how much the Doctor didn't like him. He carried a cup of wine in one hand and a corked bottle of wine in the other. He didn't seem like he was going to attack her immediately, which meant that she had time. She just hoped that she had enough time for the Doctor to fix the TARDIS.

"She doesn't trust you, does she, dear girl?" the man asks, drinking from his wine glass, "it's because her fear is stronger. She fears the future, her immanent death, and losing you if she were to ever tell you the truth.""

"How do you know so much about the Doctor?" Allie asks the man, "and why does she keep you locked up in the TARDIS?"

"Why should I even be surprised," the man asked himself with a chuckle sounding like the personification of upper class.

"I am the Valeyard," the man said, bowing to her, "I was created through the effects of Annoin technology on the Doctor. The Annoin believed that they were doing him a favor. It was the stresses at work which caused the Doctor to regenerate not too long ago."

"So you're like… a part of the Doctor which escaped?"

"Very much so. You're quite bright, aren't you?" the Valeyard asked with a smile before taking a sip of his wine, "our Doctor has always liked the bright and clever ones. Especially if they're as beautiful as they are clever."

"And I'm so not interested."

"Pity," he said with a frown, "and I was hoping to have some fun."

It was then that all the lights turned on, causing the Valeyard to chuckle, "too her long enough to fix a simple problem."

"Why did you do… whatever it was that you did to the TARDIS?"

The Valeyard moved to sit down next the Allie and when he spoke, his voice was low. Almost like he was telling her a universal secret.

"To draw our good Doctor away so I could warn you. Our Doctor… regardless of gender, is still the same as she's ever been. One day, she will grow tired… bored of you. And when she does, you'll be dropped like a hot potato and you'll never see her ever again. She may call you her friend, but friends don't disappear after they've had their share of you. They stay in touch. She won't. Never will," the Valeyard said before seeing the Doctor entering the console room, "speak of the devil!"

"Get away," the Doctor almost growled, "get away from her."

"No need to get all pissy at me," the Valeyard said, his voice defensive as he stood up, "I just wanted a chance to talk to our friend Allie. I needed you to be away and busy. I didn't intend to harm anyone. Unlike you. I could see murder in your eyes. The question is, do you really want to murder me when you have a witness? Hmm?"

The Doctor's hands were balled into fists as she resisted the urge to be violent as the Valeyard walked passed her and into the TARDIS. Once she knew he was gone, she let out a deep breath and walked to one of the other seats in the room and collapsed on it, staring at the ceiling.

"I hope he didn't say or do anything horrendous," the Doctor said, staring at the ceiling.

"He did tell me one thing that's bothering me a bit," Allie stated.

"What did he tell you?"

"He said that once you have your share of whoever it is you're traveling with, you drop them off and never see them again. And that you'll do the same with me."

"Better than the alternative," the Doctor stated, "whenever I refuse to let go, I lose them anyways. Through death… or other things. Or they walk away from me, a bit bitter with me. Which reminds me…"

With that, the Doctor jumped out of the seat to land on her feet and walking the few strides to the console where she started to set a course, "it's about time for you to go. I don't want any of those horrible things to happen to you."

"But you'll stay in touch with me, right?" Allie asked.

"We'll swap phone numbers," the Doctor said, "and I'll make sure to call every once in a while."

"I don't like it. That you're just going to leave me behind in my home," Allie stated, "I haven't even properly seen the universe yet."

"I'm doing you a favor," the Doctor said, putting her hands on Allie's shoulders, "I'm letting go before something could happen to you. But that doesn't mean I'm going to be a stranger. Oh, I'll pop in to say hi. I'll stay in touch for a change. You're my friend and I'm going to be a proper friend this time. I promise."

"You better," Allie stated as the Doctor let go of her to land the TARDIS.

The landing was the smoothest landing that Allie had felt in the TARDIS. She didn't even felt the slightest jolt as the TARDIS grew as silent as it usually was, leaving only the rhythmic throbbing of the engines, which reminded her so much of a heartbeat. The Doctor jogged to the doors, leaning against the railing next to them. She was smiling as she stood, waiting for Allie.

"I'm going to miss this. The traveling," Allie stated as she slowly walked towards the Doctor.

"Not by much. Not enough memories or experiences to form too much of a bond," the Doctor stated, "and I made sure to drop you off within hours of taking you with me."

"You don't have to do this," Allie stated.

"Yes. Yes I do because I refuse to allow anything to happen to you," the Doctor said, "your life's waiting for you outside these doors."

Allie nodded, "Be seeing you, Doctor."

Allie opened the door, seeing the same, familiar house she lived in. She looked back at the Doctor, who was smiling at her.

"Right. I promised to return the clothes," the Doctor stated.

"Don't bother. They suit you better," Allie stated, "Including that ugly vest."

"Good-bye, Allie Irving," the Doctor said with a smile as Allie could see that the Time Lady was fighting tears.

"See you later, Doctor," Allie said, walking out of the TARDIS.

Allie was only five feet away from the TARDIS when it started to dematerialize with the same familiar sound it always made when doing so. She could only let out a sigh as she continued walking to her home in the night, wishing that things would get better. That maybe, the Doctor would get a change of heart.

Author's Note: 3/18/13

I've had a horrible time. I mean that seriously. I spent a day and a half in a state of no-drive and no energy, just laying around playing video games. I really apologize for not updating this sooner.

So that's new… the Doctor doesn't usually push away companions this soon. I can't say that I don't know what to do now. I'm starting to think that when I go to sleep, my subconscious mind comes up with fun things. But that's the end for this adventure. Obviously, the Valeyard is much more complex than just "hammy villain who wants to blow crap up".

So what's next? Does Allie see the Doctor again? Does Allie still having a TARDIS key play a part in some bigger plan she's cooking up? Or was it just the Doctor being forgetful again?

You'll see.

~Gregora

Oh and what follows is more of a… prequel to the next chapter. Not long enough to be its own chapter and I felt it could be tacked on after the author's note. So enjoy.

Oh and another thing before I go – a buddy of mine and I did an impromptu hat exchange. He got my awesome patchwork cap and I got his awesome black fedora. Come Friday when one of my close friends show up, I'm gonna wear my fedora and then when she asks about it, I'm gonna say "it's a fedora. I wear a fedora now. Fedoras are cool." And I truly believe that fedoras are cool. I so need to put 13 in a fedora. Also, I have a tumblr and deviantart and I kinda… drew a crappy pic of 13 in my sketches. My deviantart is Gregora and my art-and-randomness tumblr is nekogatobox. Just in case you guys wanna see my crappy artwork and yap at me and stuff.

A ship fades into existence over the Earth, fully powered. The ship obviously has only three levels to it and looks streamlined, as if it was built to land on the surface of planets. The engines take up most of the bulk of the ship with smaller engine pods underneath the wings.

"What is it?"

"It appeared in low Earth orbit. We don't know where it's from or why it's here."

A group of five people walk through the brightly lit corridors, opening doors. There's no one else there. The corridor walls and ceiling seem to be covered by a matte off-white material. The floors seem to be covered by a pale green carpet. Sporadically, there are consoles which are on, showing a symbol which is the astronomical symbol for the Earth. Every so often, there is a place where alarm lights hang from the ceiling. The corridors are sharp and exact and the corridors are rectangular with no curves to them. All of the rooms they see have the same aesthetic.

"This is Greeting Party. It looks like it's completely empty. Ship's computers say that we're the only life signs onboard," one of the people say, speaking into their headset radios.

Two people are in an office in a high-rise. A middle-aged woman with black hair that's graying sits behind a desk which has a desktop computer on it. A man sits off to the side, drinking a can of ginger ale.

"Ah, I never thought there'd be something that humans can accomplish," the man says after taking a sip of his soda, "and I'm proved wrong by the existence of this drink. Marvelous drink this is. Consider me amazed by what you apes can do."

"The Americans have taken the lead on studying the craft. Which is perfect for us," the woman says with a smile.

"Consider me impressed by your forethought," the man says with a smile, "and your ability to pull the strings on this planet."

"It's all a matter of finding the strings and obtaining information, my friend. The true question is whether or not you can uphold the rest of your bargain?"

"If you can get the girl involved in our little project, she will find it… irresistible," the man says with a smile, "and my people… my friends and family… they can be avenged."

"I have access to Torchwood's systems, including the American branch. Allison Irving will be getting her invitation shortly."


	17. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

Baiting the Trap

When Allie heard the knocking on her door, she hoped it was someone which wasn't at the door. She prepared herself for giving what she knew would be a roaring tirade of annoyed yelling at the alien who had invariably came by to visit. She'd called the Doctor several times since she was dropped off, each time, getting voice mail. It had been almost two months and she hadn't seen or even heard anything from the Time Lady. So imagine her surprise when she opened the door to find that, instead of the Time Lady, she came face to face with an Air Force Colonel.

"Miss Irving?" the Colonel asked.

"Yes?" Allie asked before she couldn't stop her mouth from making an idiot of her, "if you're here to invite me to the SGC and be a part of a gate team, the answer's yes."

"Except that the Stargate's not real," the Colonel said with a disgruntled sigh.

"Let me guess, happens all the time?" Allie asked.

"You have no idea," the Colonel said with a smile before clearing his throat, becoming all-business, "I'm here to invite you to participate in a confidential exercise."

"Is it about the anomaly which appeared in Low Earth Orbit a few days back?" Allie asked, "an anomaly which seems an awful lot like a space ship?"

"So you've been following the civilian telescopes," the Colonel stated, "yes. The exercise involves the anomaly."

"Second question: why me? What makes me all of a sudden good enough to be involved? I've got no skills or knowledge that makes me special," Allie stated.

"We have access to all of Torchwood's files. A report written by a 'Captain Jack Harkness' mentions you by name, address, and appearance. You were a traveling companion of an alien known as The Doctor, were you not?"

"Yes. But how does that have anything to do with… well, everything?"

"Because of your experiences with aliens and situations where your life is on the line, we consider you a notch above standard civilians. You've seen things and lived through situations that no mere civilian has," the Colonel said before asking, "are you in?"

Allie thought for a second. The anomaly and then all this. It sounded suspicious to her as she started to think. Just the anomaly was suspicious, how it suddenly appeared. She knew that if the Doctor wasn't involved with the anomaly yet, she knew that the Time Lady wouldn't stay uninvolved for long.

"Can I pack?" Allie asked.

"We will provide you with a uniform."

"But what about a book or something to keep me from getting all loopy?" Allie asked.

"You may bring a small bag of personal effects," the Colonel stated.

A day later, she was escorted into a room on the second deck of the mystery ship. The room had two beds and looked much like a studio apartment minus anything resembling a kitchen. She carried only her messenger bag which was filled with two paperback novels, her MP3 player, her laptop, two notebooks, and enough mechanical pencils to choke a horse. She had also been changed into a flight suit, which made her smile, making her almost feel like she was living through a science fiction show.

"This will be your quarters. You'll be expected to have a roommate," the Sergeant leading her told her.

"I've never had a roommate before," she said, "any clue who it is?"

"None," the Sergeant said before saying, "now, set your things here and let's get you set up."

"I'll take it from there, Sergeant," she heard a familiar voice say.

"Yes, sir," the Sergeant said before walking off.

"Jack?" she asked, seeing the very familiar owner of the voice.

"I heard they got you in on this too," Jack stated with a friendly smile, "I'm the head of security here."

"I have no clue what I'm doing here," she admitted.

"You're my assistant," Jack stated.

"Seeing how you're like with our friend, I'm unsure if I'd want to."

"I was just joking with the Doc," Jack stated before saying in a low voice, "besides, I want to know where you're at to keep you out of trouble. This is just too suspicious."

"I know. Mysterious ship beyond Earth's capability appears out of nowhere. We both have a common friend and they got us in on this," Allie stated, "if she's not curious about this place, she'd jump at the fact that we're here."

"Oh, if I know her, it's all a matter of when the blue box decides to appear. This is more than just an advanced ship. This ship is from Earth's future, the ship that suddenly disappeared from Earth's shipyards the night before it was to get any crew. At least we know what happened to it."

"Do you think it's a trap for her?" Allie asked.

"And the ship and us are the bait," Jack stated with a frown, "which is why I want to keep you near."

"Not because I'm a girl?" Allie asked.

"I'm more flexible than you think," Jack stated, "gender really doesn't bother me."

"And seeing as how you were flirting with our friend, I doubt species matters to you too."

"Nope," Jack stated with a grin before turning serious, "let's get to work."

"So what all do you want me to do as your assistant?" Allie asked as Jack started to lead her through the corridors.

"Keep an eye on everything odd and let me know. You're the only civilian here, so if you keep it down low that you're on my department, you might hear something slip," Jack stated.

"Assuming that they don't up and decide to bully me."

"That kind of behavior won't be tolerated. Trust me on this."

"So any clue what we're supposed to do? I mean, are we going to be circling Earth until who knows when?"

"More checking out the Solar System," Jack stated.

"Will we be flying past Saturn?"

"I believe so. I take it that you like Saturn."

"It's nice to look at. I mean, the first feature of Saturn that was seen was its rings."

"Why did our friend drop you off anyways?"

"She was scared that something bad would happen to me if she didn't."

"Of all the people in the universe to travel alone, she shouldn't. Ever," Jack stated with a frown.

"You don't think I noticed that? She can get pretty unstable."

"I think you just won the 'understatement of the year' award."

That night, she arrived in her quarters relieved. She was sure that the shoes she was assigned had managed to produce multiple layers of blisters. She wanted a bath the most, but she quickly heard the run of water in the bathroom. A clear sign that her roommate was in the shower. She wondered which gender her roommate was. It was clear that it sure wasn't Jack, but that it would be another girl. It just seemed more sane that way. If it was Jack, she would accuse him of being overprotective and clingy. She sat on the bed she chose, labeled as such by her messenger bag, which she grabbed and opened, searching for one of the paperback novels she had brought with her.

She was a chapter further in the book when her roommate left the bedroom, dressed in a nightgown. The other girl had big, expressive brown eyes, long dishwater blonde hair and a friendly expression on her face. She gave the other girl a friendly smile.

"So you're my roommate," she stated, "of course you are. I'm sorry because you're my first roommate ever. Name's Allie."

"I'm Sammy," the other girl said, shaking Allie's hand, "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise," Allie stated with a smile.

"Reading some Douglas Adams, huh?" Sammy asked, looking at the novel that Allie had in her hand.

"Dirk Gently," Allie stated.

"Read Hitchhiker's Guide?" Sammy asked.

"My copy of the complete series won't survive another read through. The spine's just about had it," Allie said, causing Sammy to laugh.

"Just don't tell me that you like the movie," Sammy said with an exaggerated frown.

"Personally, I don't hate it. It's just not as good as the book and the book's not as good as the radio play," Allie stated.

"At least, it means I won't try to kill you by way of Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster," Sammy said, causing Allie to laugh.

"What's your opinion on Stargate?" Allie asked.

"Which series?" Sammy asked.

"All."

"SG-1 was good until the last two seasons, Atlantis got a bit too dark, and Universe was just getting good," Sammy said.

"Agreed with SG-1. I felt that there was more of a story to tell as far as Atlantis went. I gave up on Universe a few episodes into the second season," Allie said with a frown.

"I think we're going to be just fine," Sammy said, "I thought I was going to want to strangle who I got saddled with."

"Less strangle, more wanting to find a big enough rock," Allie joked, "like the Earth."

"I heard that we're going to be leaving Low Earth Orbit in two days," Sammy said.

"Let's just hope I won't go all _The Shining _over internet withdrawal," Allie said with a giggle.

"I think half this ship runs that risk," Sammy said.

"I think the only thing we have to fear is a zombie outbreak in the case of we run out of coffee," Allie joked.

"I'd be one of the zombies," Sammy said laughing.

"So any clue about anything going on?" Allie asked.

"Your guess is as good as mine. It shouldn't surprise me that most everyone here are fairly low in rank except for Captain Harkness. I heard he could've had command, but the higher ups didn't trust him. Why have him here when he could outrank the commander of the ship?"

Author's Note: 3/18/13

So here's the first installment of what will prove to be a fairly lengthy adventure which was based on a dream I had a few days ago (don't worry, I took down some very detailed notes… and worse, it was constructed like a two-parter episode. If only I can get the second part as my dream!) which I thought was a rather interesting dream. I changed some details from that dream and added Jack (was so not thinking about it but was all like "Jack needs to be here!"). Allie and Sammy are going to have some epic Team Geeky Girls moments in the future once crap hits the fan. Already looking forward to it.

For those wondering, the Doctor will show up, but roughly during the equivalent of the last 10-20 minutes of part one. This is more about Allie dealing with the scenario and everyone else's reactions. The Doctor showing up is the cause of the crap and everything else hitting the fan. That's going to be fun, especially the cliffhanger.

So before I spoil everything, I'm going to go (hopefully to bed).

Stay tuned and stay awesome!

~Gregora


	18. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

And the Trap Snaps

"Pandora, you have clearance to leave orbit," a man's voice rang through the speakers throughout the ship, distorted by the fact it was sent over a radio frequency.

Allie gave Jack a worried look, which he replied to with a smile as he tried to reassure the much younger woman. They knew that this was a trap for the Doctor. What they didn't know was why and who was behind it. Allie knew that whoever it was, they could get the military involved in anything they wanted.

"Copy, Houston. Estimated time when we'll be out of radio range is one hour, twenty minutes," another man's voice said over the speakers, clear as day.

"Copy, Pandora. Good luck."

Silence fell on the office which was where Jack and Allie had been standing as Jack walked towards the door.

"I'd have thought that I'd feel it when we started moving," Allie stated, "I mean, obviously artificial gravity and inertial dampers. Still, I've had rougher rides on…"

"Remember who you're talking about. I think the inertial dampers and the stabilizers are barely used. Previous ones got a kick out of it," Jack stated, "We need to at least act like we're doing our job."

"Right," Allie said, grabbing the clipboard that she'd set on his desk before following him, acting like she was diligently taking notes.

"You're pretty diligent for a bartender," Jack stated.

"And I'm told I can whip up a mean screwdriver and I'm just as good at giving advice," Allie replied with a smirk.

"Once this is over, I'd probably need one," Jack said with a smile.

"You and me both," Allie muttered as she followed Jack moments before the sound of fighting was heard.

The two exchanged looks before running toward the sound of the scuffle, seeing two guys throwing punches. Allie gave Jack a smirk as she practically leaped in the middle of the fight.

"Are you two willing to hit a girl?" Allie asked, shouting over the din as she got between the two.

One of the men, the scrawnier of the two who had short, messy blonde hair backed up away from Allie. The bulkier man smirked and threw a punch at her, which she dodged and used the movement of her dodge to throw a solid kick. The bulky man let out a groan and fell onto the floor onto his knees.

"Nice work," Jack said, "let's take these two to the brig."

"Come along, you," Allie said, pulling the scrawnier man with her as Jack shoved the bulkier man along, being purposely rough with the guy.

"Where'd you learn how to fight?" Jack asked.

"On the playground. I was bullied constantly because I wasn't girly enough to be seen as a girl, so I learned that nothing scares bullies more than someone who could fight back. Then they kept coming and I wound up getting more practice and then I started to be able to win those fights and they learned not to throw punches at me. Doesn't help that I fight like a girl."

"Meaning that you fight dirty," Jack said.

"Exactly," Allie said as the four of them reached the ship's brig.

Allie shoved the guy she was pulling around into one of the cells, saying "in you go."

Jack didn't even say anything to the guy he shoved into the neighboring cell before walking out. Allie followed along, still carrying her clipboard. She wondered if perhaps, she should tell Jack the fact that she had a key that their friend had given her and never taken back. She wondered why the Doctor failed to take her key from her.

"I think I should tell you something, Captain," Allie said as the two walked through the nearly abandoned corridors.

"I've told you before, it's just 'Jack'," Jack stated with a sigh, "but what is it?"

"When I was dropped off, she didn't ask for her key back," Allie said.

Jack stopped suddenly, nearly causing Allie to walk into his back. Knowing Jack as well as she did, she knew he probably wouldn't mind it. She took a few steps back as Jack turned to face her and then looked around, seeing a door. He bolted to the door and opened it via a console on the door frame, seeing that no one was using the lab before pulling her into the room.

"What?" Allie asked, startled by how fast she was pulled into what amounted to a broom closet.

"Don't worry, the room's soundproof," Jack stated before exclaiming, "you have a TARDIS key?!"

"I don't know why but she didn't ask for it back," Allie said.

"I'd guess that she forgot or it's part of a plan," Jack said, "and sometimes, it's hard to tell which one it is. Just keep it in your pocket. The last thing we want or need is for the trap to work."

"It's just a matter of time until she triggers the trap," Allie said, "but there's only, what? Fifteen people that comprises the crew?"

"Including us, yes. And you can forget fighting our way out of the trap," Jack said, "I'm starting to think that no one else here is what they seem."

"How so? They're all military," Allie said.

"I've just been catching details here and there that hints at the fact that they're not exactly a part of the US military," Jack said, "I've spent enough time in it to know when something's not right."

"We already know that this is a trap for the Doctor," Allie said.

"That much is obvious," Jack said, "but there's no way of knowing until the Doctor arrives."

"And if this is a good trap, that would be when all hell breaks loose."

"Even if it wasn't a trap, all hell seems to break loose around the time the Doctor shows up."

"Fair point," Allie said before looking uncomfortable, "if we stay in this broom closet any longer, they may think—"

"Bit too late for that," Jack said, "they already do."

Allie closed her eyes and let out a deep breath before saying, "of course they would."

"Let them think that. It'll give us reason to have more hidden chats," Jack said with a smile.

"How long do you guess it'll take for her to make an entrance?" Allie asked.

"Before the end of our trip around the solar system," Jack replied.

"Obviously," Allie muttered dryly before walking out of the closet with a sigh.

It was then that she could hear a familiar sound which was equal parts whirring and grinding. She gave Jack a sidelong glance, seeing a similar glance, which meant that she wasn't the only one who heard that familiar, haunting sound. She took off running towards the sound, the second time that day she'd ran towards a sound. But this time, she couldn't help but to smile to herself as she ran faster than she ever had.

Turning left at an intersection, she nearly ran into the very familiar blue box. She didn't realize she'd nearly ran into the side with the doors on it until she was nearly hit by the opening door. She came face to face with a redheaded girl who she immediately recognized, however, she was wearing a far different outfit. Dark green cargo pants, black sneakers, a pale tan blouse which was almost completely hidden by view due to the purple silk vest and the black wool jacket which almost reached the alien's knees. What made it just a touch harder to recognize the alien was the fact that she had cut her hair in an almost boyish style.

"What happened?" Allie asked, flabbergasted by the massive change.

"Allie!" the Doctor exclaimed, giving the human girl a tight hug, "it's been ages!"

"It wouldn't be if you could just call or drop by!" Allie exclaimed, squirming out of the hug.

"And Jack Harkness!" the Doctor exclaimed, noticing Jack.

"And I'm sorry, but you're trespassing on this ship. As head of security, I have to take you to the brig and confiscate your box," Jack said, giving the Doctor a small wink.

"It's to be expected since I did wander in unannounced or uninvited," the alien replied calmly.

"Then if you can come with us," Jack said, motioning for the Doctor to walk ahead of them, "and I'll have to confiscate everything in your pockets."

"It's not every day when the people who catch me actually search my pockets," the Doctor said lightly, almost as if she wasn't troubled in the slightest by what was going on, "I will warn you, though. My pockets are bigger on the inside."

Author's Note: 3/19/13

And now, the next chapter will be when everything goes wrong. What's funny was that the scene in the broom closet nearly turned out to be like this:

"_How long do you guess it'll take for her to make an entrance?" Allie asked._

"_Before the end of this chapter," Jack replied._

Apparently, in my head, Jack loves to destroy the fourth wall. And it's quite clear that he and the Doc are up to something. I wonder what it is.

Stay tuned and stay awesome!

~Gregora


	19. Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen

(Not So) Calm Skies

Allie sat at a table in the galley, sitting with Sammy as they ate dinner. It had only been an hour at most since the Doctor arrived and she did as what she always had done at that specific time since she had arrived on the ship. She ate dinner with Sammy, talking girl talk and laughing about their day.

"Really?" Sammy nearly squeaked around her mouthful of the salad.

"Yep," Allie said before taking a bite out of her sandwich and speaking around it saying, "no fooling. Big blue box outta nowhere. Maybe a yard across and about ten feet tall. I took a peek into it and wouldn't you know it, it's bigger on the inside."

"You're kidding me," Sammy said.

"Oh, you don't know the half of it. I used to travel with her all over the universe," Allie said, "that's why they wanted me here. Oh and Harkness? Him too."

"Now you're just yanking my leg," Sammy said.

"She even gave me a key," Allie said with a smile as the ship shook, "what's that?"

"Turbulence probably," Sammy said before exclaimed, "you traveled with a girl in a blue box that's bigger on the inside?"

"Which can go anywhere and anywhen," Allie said before the ship jolted again, "something tells me that's not your everyday turbulence."

"I don't believe you," Sammy said with a sigh as the ship started to vibrate and shake, making people stagger to gain some semblance of balance.

"This ain't turbulence," Allie stated, standing up and running out, Sammy following on her heels.

"What do you think's going on?" Sammy asked.

"I think we're going to make a landing and I'm going on a limb and say it's a safe assumption that it ain't gonna be a soft landing," Allie said as she ran down the corridors.

"Where are we going?" Sammy asked.

"Our quarters. If we can move the mattresses into the closet, we can be somewhat safe," Allie said, "ever told you that I lived through a tornado back when my family lived on the other side of Montana?"

"Something tells me that a crash is nothing like a tornado!" Sammy shouted as they entered their quarters.

"Better 'n nothing!" Allie shouted, "now let's get going! We don't have much time left!"

The two girls dragged the mattresses to their closet as Allie shouted, "We should put one against the wall and one on the floor!"

"Got it!" Sammy shouted as Allie set her mattress against the wall and guided the mattress that Sammy had to cover the floor before jumping on the mattress.

Sammy threw herself on the mattress, closing the door behind her as Allie assumed the position so that the impact would be hitting her side as Allie shouted, "don't brace yourself against anything! Just assume the position and let yourself bounce against the mattresses!"

It was a few long moments in the darkness of the closet as the two girls could hear windows shatter outside in their quarters, allowing them to hear the whistle of air. And then there was such a sound that Allie nor Sammy ever heard in their lives. The sound was deep and came with it the feeling of impact, sending them against the mattress which was propped against the wall. And then there was a jolt as they came to a complete stop and then silence. Allie waited, taking deep breaths as she expected something, some sound that wasn't silence. She took stock of herself, noticing the first thing that she was still breathing. Sammy coughed next to her as the girl shifted, moving to the door.

"Are you okay?" Sammy asked.

"Pretty sure unless I've done and gone to the hereafter," Allie stated as she could hear Sammy put her weight against the closet door and pushed it open, staggering to get her balance.

"That was some good thinking," Sammy said.

"Just lucky that my idea worked," Allie said lightly as she climbed out of the closet.

The room looked like a mess as the two girls looked around, searching for anything that survived the impact. Allie was glad that she kept most of the things she brought with her in her bag, which was tossed across the room. She doubted her laptop survived, but it was the most fragile thing she had in the bag. She hefted it over her shoulder and gave Sammy a sideways glance.

"Let's see exactly what happened. Clearly we landed on a habitable world," Allie said as she opened the door to see that the corridors were dark as sparks were flying from loose and torn wiring.

"Shouldn't we be checking to see if anyone else survived?" Sammy asked.

"Well, yeah. But I'd like to know which planet we're on. Wait. We weren't supposed to leave the solar system. Breathable air. So we know where we are," Allie said, working through her thoughts.

"Earth?" Sammy asked.

"Well, we're not flash frozen, melting into puddles of goo, or suffocating," Allie stated as she started walking down the corridor.

"So what next on the itinerary?" Sammy asked.

"Seeing if Captain Harkness is alive and then seeing how the Doctor managed," Allie replied, "as well as helping everyone who needs it that we come across."

The two walked down the corridor in silence as Allie tripped on something, managing to catch her breath.

"You okay?" Sammy asked.

"Yeah. Just fine."

"What did you trip on?"

"I'd rather not know. Ever," Allie said, trying to hide her fear and anxiety, "I'm sure that there's a ladder down to the third deck somewhere near—"

Allie stopped talking as she heard a sound. It sounded like people talking. She inched through the corridors, stuck in darkness as she tried to find the source of the sound as she could almost hear a buzzing sound. Then there was a large crash and suddenly, the darkness wasn't complete anymore. Two people emerged from the nearby ladder which was covered by debris. One of them was holding an item that buzzed and cast everything in a purple light. That someone had short red hair. It took her a little bit for it to click. Luckily, it didn't take so long for the identity of the second person to click.

"Doctor and Captain Harkness!" Allie exclaimed.

"That was a fun ride, wasn't it, Doctor?" Jack asked.

"Would've been funner without all the crashing," the Doctor muttered before saying brightly, "nice to see that you're safe and sound for the time being at least. So, who's your friend?"

"Call me Sammy," the girl said, "what's going on?"

"This was a trap specially set for me," the Doctor said, getting glances from Jack and Allie, "Do you two honestly thought I jumped in with no clue? I mean, time displaced missing ship from Earth's future with two old friends of mine just happening to be aboard. It was like a great big neon sign asking for me to walk in. I just want to know exactly who's behind this but I've got a bit of a clue."

"I don't think this is the best place to catch up," Sammy said.

"Agreed," Jack said, "there should be an emergency exit just down this corridor a few yards."

The four started walking with the Doctor leading, her sonic screwdriver out, being used as a flashlight.

"When did you get a new screwdriver?" Allie asked.

"Some time ago," the Doctor said, trying to sound like it wasn't very important.

"And you had a wardrobe change and a haircut," Allie said.

"Can we just focus on getting out of this tin can first?" the Doctor asked.

"Sure. Once you can stop being all bent out of shape for some reason," Allie said before asking, "how long has it been for you since you dropped me off at my home?"

"A hundred years," the Doctor said with a frown before snapping, "can we please focus?"

"Once you stop throwing a tantrum," Allie said lightly, "seriously, you're going on like a little kid who just got sent to the corner."

"Well, I'm sorry!" the Doctor exclaimed , turning to Allie, her expression full of anger and rage, "someone tried, once again, to get to me through the people I care about."

"Here we go," Jack stated, pushing open the emergency exit, showing a bit of a drop.

"Shouldn't be too dangerous of a jump," the Doctor said before leaping, landing on the upturned ground without an issue before looking up, "see?"

Allie nodded to Jack before jumping, landing on her feet before losing balance, sliding down the pile of upturned ground and landing on her rear. Sammy jumped behind Allie, twisting her ankle with the landing and nearly fell onto Allie. Jack let out a sigh to himself before leaping and landing just fine, helping Sammy up.

"Any clue where we are?" Jack asked.

"Windsor Park," the Doctor said.

"How can you be so specific?" Sammy asked.

"Because there's a sign over there, by the stoplight. Says in big, friendly letters 'Windsor Park'," Allie stated, grinning at Sammy as she motioned to the sign.

The four of them grouped up with those who also managed to escape the wreckage through various means. Some of them weren't seriously injured by luck or quick thinking while some clearly needed medical help. Jack could see anger rise in the Doctor's eyes. The Doctor bit back the bitter taste in the back of her throat at knowing that so many other people had gotten hurt and even died. Just so that some group of egotistical, self-righteous idiots could try to pull a trap for her. All she could do to keep her from acting rash was to just walk through the mass of injured and confused humanity.

"Look!" Jack exclaimed as he pointed at a group of uniformed people approaching, just crossing the street on the other side of the park.

"Want to see if they're friends?" the Doctor asked Jack, who nodded.

Allie moved to follow before her shoulder was in the Doctor's grip.

"It's best if he goes ahead alone," the Doctor said, her expression serious.

The three girls watched as Jack raised his hands in an amicable gesture. They watched as the group of armed, uniformed people raised their weapons and opened fire.

"Run!" the Doctor exclaimed, grabbing Allie's wrist with the hand that had grabbed her shoulder and grabbed Sammy's wrist and pulled the two human girls with her as the three of them made a break for it.

"What about Harkness?" Allie asked.

"He'll be fine," the Doctor said lightly.

"But he was shot! He could be dying!" Sammy exclaimed.

"You two don't seem to understand the gravity of the situation!" the Doctor exclaimed as they ran around trees, "we're the ones who are currently being shot at!"

"And a friend of yours got shot!" Allie shouted.

"Bit busy trying hard not to get shot too," the Doctor stated as the three reached a parking lot and started using parked cars to distance themselves from the attackers.

"So what's the plan?" Allie asked.

"Find somewhere to hide until it's night time?" the Doctor replied, "still working together a plan."

"You always have a ready-made plan to throw on whoever's after us," Allie said.

"That was then. This is now," the Doctor said, "I changed."

The three came to a strip mall and the Doctor smiled, seeing a department store, "I think I just got an idea of how to lose our assailants. Department store."

"I somehow got a bad feeling about this," Sammy said with a frown.

Author's Note: 3/22/13

Oh man, am I beat. The other day, I was paid by my brother-like friend's girlfriend to catsit for them and they paid me $40 to do so during their whole 2 week vacation. I had no warning I was going to because the person they originally asked found out at the last minute that he couldn't. They even allowed me to bring my cat with me. Sadly, the introduction of my cat isn't going too well (even though he's more poultry than cat). On the bright side, I literally just got the wireless password for their wi-fi which is the other reason I've taken so long to update. The third reason is that an internet buddy of mine is putting together an audio drama series/show and not only am I going to voice a character, but I'm currently his only writer. It's going to be fun.

~Gregora


	20. Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen

This Was Definitely Not a Good Idea!

Allie and Sammy ducked into the racks of clothing, trying on hats to cover their hair. Allie grabbed a fedora and grinned at Sammy, who had grabbed a hat with pockets that resembled Pikachu from Pokemon. She only knew what Pokemon was because she was a child during the nineties. Back then, you couldn't go anywhere without seeing anything pokemon-related and if you didn't know the first 150 of the critters, you were bullied.

"How'd you find a fedora?" Sammy asked, grinning over the hat.

"Fedoras are cool!" the Doctor exclaimed, popping her head through the racks of clothing suddenly, wearing a brown fedora with a long brim.

"Do you have special senses to tell you how to startle me?" Allie asked.

"No," the Doctor said before grinning wider, "I had practice."

"Just how much?" Allie asked.

"Your future is my past, old friend," the Doctor said as shadows flickered in her glance.

"Allie wasn't kidding then?" Sammy asked with a surprised reaction, "you do travel in all of space and time?"

"For fun, yes," the Doctor said with a tip of her own fedora, "might even take you with me if I can end this situation."

"But that's what they want," Allie said quietly.

"No, they want me dead. Or under their control. No, I mean approaching them myself. Whoever it is," the Doctor said with a frown.

"Is this a new group of enemies for you or—" Sammy started to ask as they could hear footsteps approach and all three girls ducked into the racks, using them as cover while making it sound like they were clothes shopping.

Allie peeked around a shirt to see a rather obese woman thudding along. Still, she didn't know if she was working for their enemy. Worse, she could see uniformed armed men approach them. They would clearly demand to see their faces. She came up with an idea. The problem was that she didn't exactly know how good of an idea it was as she walked calmly, using the racks as an excuse and to seem to act casual before motioning the Doctor over.

"Can the sonic trigger the fire alarm?" Allie asked, her voice a whisper.

"If I try and it fails, it would signal their location," the Doctor whispered back.

Sammy saw the uniformed and armed men drawing closer before sneaking towards the two of them to whisper, "they're coming."

Allie gave the Doctor a sharp glance as Sammy looked on cluelessly as the Doctor twisted a few dials on the device before pressing the button, making it create a high pitched whirr before the alarms went off. The three girls gave each other a passing glance of good luck before the three of them started running in different directions. Allie decided to run to another store in the strip mall, sprinting as fast as her legs could carry her. It wasn't until she realized that she wasn't being followed that she walked, her shoulders slumped as she tried to radiate a feeling that she just wasn't important or worth noticing as she remained calm as she learned that she had managed to run into a music store. She glanced over the instruments before moving on to a store that sold baby-related goods. She continued before reaching the end of the strip mall, a coat store before looking into her wallet, noticing that she really did have enough for a new coat anyways.

She perused the racks of coats in her size, finding a brown duster in her size which fit her budget and a pair of sunglasses and paid for both. As she left the register, she pulled the coat over her battered flight suit that she wore on the ship and slipped on the sunglasses. She was an idiot for not pulling it off, but she knew she didn't exactly have anything underneath to wear. Pulling the duster tighter around her as she walked out of the strip mall, she started walking off in a random direction. The sun was lowering in the sky as she continued to walk, hoping to find someone who wasn't out to kill her. She quickly found herself hating the fact that she'd drank two cups of coffee before the crash and noticed that the bar she was just passing was open. She walked into the bar, removing her sunglasses and hat as she showed the bartender her ID card before sneaking into the restroom.

As she washed her hands, she looked at herself in the mirror. She looked like she'd been through hell with her pale skin showing dust and light scratches. She didn't know how long she could keep running and hiding. She wondered how the Doctor could spend so much of her life running when she was reaching exhaustion. '_Or maybe that's the caffeine crash talking,_' she mused with a heavy sigh before washing her face with cold water.

But there was something that bothered her more than the running. More than even being hunted down. What truly bothered her was how much the Doctor had changed. Psychological wounds unfamiliar to her lurked underneath the Time Lady's mask as she acted so much older. Worse was that the alien had jumped into a trap willingly, something that the Doctor she knew would avoid. The Doctor she knew would hesitatingly get involved in anything, and had needed her to talk some sense in order for the alien to investigate the weird goings-on around her home. It was such a profound shift in personality that it bothered her, making her wonder just what would've had to happen to cause that shift.

She let out a sigh of anxiety as she slid her had onto her head and pocketed the glasses. She needed a heavy drink.

Walking out of the restroom, she walked into what felt like a wall of muscle. Looking up, she saw an expanse of uniform and two other men aiming their weapons at her. She raised her hands in the customary position of surrender.

"Whatever it is, I didn't do it and I really don't want or need another hole in me," she said, looking at the two men with guns, "I've never broken a law in my life. You must have the wrong girl."

"I don't believe so, Miss Irving," the leader said.

"Irving? I think you're mistaken, sirs," she said, "I'm Elizabeth Thorne. Not this 'Miss Irving' you speak of."

"Then may I see your ID?" the leader asked.

"I think I have it somewhere," she said, making a production out of looking through her pockets, trying to cover up the flight suit underneath the coat, "hmm. Must be in my other coat. I was just using the restroom anyways. It wasn't like I was going to order a drink, sirs."

"Likely story," the leader said, "just come with us and you won't be hurt."

As she was escorted out of the bar and into a car with an armed man on either side, she glowered. One of the armed men got in first, on the other side as the second armed man opened the door and motioned for her to sit in the car. She slid in next to the second armed man, crossing her arms as the first sat down, squeezing her between two immobile forces. And all she could think of was '_how exactly does the Doctor deal with situations like this anyways?_' She saw the man she'd collided with sit shotgun as the driver started up the car. Before too long, the car was heading somewhere and she had a nasty feeling that she wasn't going to like it.

Author's Note: 3/24/13

Another chapter that I swore would've been posted sooner. Been busy all day with watching the "megastream" of Radio Dead Air and playing an online browser-based Cards Against Humanity clone. I managed to stumble upon groups of whovians while doing so. One was going by Sutekh and was playing it up (in a fun way) and mentioned that I wouldn't have gotten the reference if I hadn't seen Pyramids of Mars recently. I still haven't seen enough of the Fourth Doctor to make an opinion about him. What I am is convinced that the Doctor has always been unable to drive the TARDIS worth beans (considering the line in The Doctor's Wife on top of openly admitting that he failed his 'driving test', I wasn't all that surprised anyways).

So I hope I've created a bit of a difference between the two points in 13's timeline and a bit of a mystery of what caused the shift in character. Also, I had to give her her own sonic. It needed to be done.

Stay tuned and stay awesome!

~Gregora


	21. Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty

We Couldn't ALL Escape

Allie spent the whole ride worrying and trying to come up with something that vaguely resembled a plan, only to come up with nothing. They had guns and she knew that they wouldn't hesitate to kill her. That much was clear by the fact that they gunned down Jack. After spending time with him on the ship, she had come to see him as a friend of sorts. Anger welled within her but her patience and common sense kept it hidden. Jack was dead and it was all because of them and whoever was in charge.

The car crawled to a stop, having pulled up to a hotel. She let out a sigh as the man on her left removed himself from the crowded back seat. She felt a lot better not being squeezed between two armed men. The man on her right grabbed her wrist as he opened the door and gave her a solid yank to get her to leave the car. The sun had gone down, leaving the area dark except for the lamps and lighting in the area.

"Impatient much? Jeez! I was gonna get out y'know!" she exclaimed in a clearly annoyed fashion as she complied with the yank and extricated herself from the car, trailing behind one armed man as the second walked around the car.

"Don't worry, Miss Irving," the leader said, removing himself from the front seat, "once the mission is over, you will be taken home safe and sound and with monetary compensation."

"The mission being capturing and/or killing the Doctor," Allie stated before laughing, "good luck on that. She'll have your guys running in circles soon enough. Assuming she hasn't already."

"We are aware that you are an associate of the Doctor's," the man stated calmly, "that's why you're spared."

"You didn't exactly spare Captain Harkness," she snapped as she glared at the leader.

"He was there to prove our point to the Doctor," the leader said, "which is that we don't care if we have to kill her friends to get her out into the open. I've heard that she's protective of her associates."

"So I'm both bait and a hostage, huh?"

"So behave or I might shoot you myself," he said, pulling out his semi-auto pistol and making a show out of loading it.

Allie clamped her mouth shut as she nodded, scared for her life. She noticed that the leader liked what he saw as he holstered the gun and grinned at her.

"That's a good girl," he said before turning to the two guards, "put her in the room with the others."

The Doctor peeked from around a house, looking at what was once was Windsor Park which was now a big piece of land with a crashed, very advanced space ship in it. She let out a bemused sigh before pulling her head back behind the house, seeing the patrols securing the area. She was thankful that she was a Time Lady and thus was able to pull in every detail just through a cursory glance. She could tell that they were mostly pulling the dead and very injured out of the wreckage and that what everyone would have thought to be Jack's dead body was missing. The crews had probably assumed that one of the paramedic teams had removed it. Or maybe they did and they were going to have a rather fun time dealing with the truth of Jack Harkness' existence.

She heard dried weeds snap and break, telling her that someone was coming. She prepared to lounge at whoever it was. She wasn't going to kill them, just prevent them from informing everyone of her location. The dark figure entered her sight and she jumped at who was clearly a man of some sort. He quite easily grabbed her, but not roughly before bending down to her ear.

"I didn't know you missed me that much, Doctor," the man whispered, clearly amused.

"Don't do that!" she hissed, "I thought you were one of them."

Allie sat in a corner, hugging her knees against her chest as she frowned. Everyone seemed very confused and scared. The last thing she wanted was to introduce anything which could cause everyone to lose their minds. To her, the smallest thing had the potential to become a real problem with the potential of creating a mob and, knowing her luck, they would come after her. So she sat in a corner, watching everyone deal with the truth that they were cornered and being kept as hostages and bait. She watched as Sammy walked to her and sat down next to her.

"Holding up okay?" Sammy asked.

"The Doctor I knew… she would be running the opposite direction at the slightest hint of danger. Up until she formed a plan. I have no clue what changed her, but I don't know what to expect," she stated quietly, "she seems… besides more energetic, far more impulsive. But deep down, I know she's the same person. And there's our problem."

"That doesn't seem to be a problem," Sammy stated before asking, "how is that a problem?"

"Because I know that she'll come and rescue us instead of thinking of her own hide," Allie muttered, "and I wish she would just wait them out."

"That's barely a plan," Sammy said, "before too long, they'll start threatening to shoot us one by one to force the Doctor's hand if she's as good-hearted and heroic as you claim."

"Not unless I use something I have in my pocket," Allie said with a smile before asking, "how tall do you think the ceiling is?"

Sammy tilted her head to look up before easing herself into a standing position before leaping in the air, her arms pointed towards the ceiling, "about a good ten feet. Why?"

"And the ceiling on the ship… wasn't it the same height?"

"There abouts," Sammy said as Allie grinned and eased herself to stand as well, "you've got a plan."

"More along the lines of an idea," Allie said with a smile before whistling over the din of the room.

The noise in the room died, leaving her with a room with only six frightened people. And each and every one of them were staring at her. And she was beaming away as she walked to the center of the room, turning to regard everyone in the room.

"Okay, I'm not good at starting speeches, but we're all stuck in this room with people outside who won't think twice about killing us if the Doctor refuses to show up. We all have lives we want to go back to, homes to be in, jobs to do, and family and friends who probably have assumed the worst. I won't lie to ya, it's a really dark time for us all."

"Then why are you pointing out things that we all already know?" a man who looked to be in his thirties asked, glaring at Allie.

"Because I have a plan. Because I know how to get us out. It will require teamwork, patience, and to not panic when they start shooting at us."

"Most of us are career military here!" a man near the back exclaimed, "We know how to deal with people shooting at us. What are you getting at?"

"To answer that, I need everyone to be behind me. I don't exactly know where it will appear," Allie stated as her right hand went into the pocket of her flight suit and pulled out a key and held it out as if she was about to unlock the doors.

She closed her eyes, hoping that her plan would work. She could feel a breeze coming from a point right in front of her. And then she started to hear the sound. At first, it was small and distant before growing in volume as it sounded like it was moving towards her. The breeze increased in severity with the sound up until the sound ended and she could see the familiar blue box. She let out a laugh as she ran to the door, unlocking it.

"Come on!" she exclaimed, enunciating the two words with as much emphasis as she could, flinging the doors outward to reveal the cavernous interior, which was the same as she remembered it.

She could hear people milling towards her, obviously not having bought into her plan. She turned around, halfway up the ramp leading to the console. Two people were slowly walking in, faces full of wonder and disbelief before the four others started to rush in when she could hear the doors to the room slam open. She could hear gunshots as there was almost a stampede.

"Close the doors once the last one's in!" Allie shouted, taking control of the moment before turning to the console and going to where she saw a phone on it earlier.

To her relief, she saw the phone on the console, an old touch-tone with a handset. She smiled as she started to dial the number she had drilled into her memory. The very phone number that the Doctor had given her and she hoped that the Doctor would answer this time. She was vaguely aware of the doors closing and locking as she heard the first ring. Then a second.

"Come on and answer for once in your life," she hissed to herself.

She let out another sigh as she and Jack walked in the darkness. She knew that no one had noticed them and she had been growing impatient. Jack glanced at her.

"Let me guess, your plan's not working?" Jack asked.

"I know that Allie has the TARDIS key I left her with," the Doctor said, "and knowing her, she'll use it and the first thing she'll do is use the TARDIS phone to call me."

"Is that why you haven't used your key yet?"

"I haven't used it because the last place you'd want the most powerful ship in the universe is anywhere near the people who don't like you," the Doctor said with a sigh.

"You left it on that ship," Jack stated.

"Because I haven't gotten the chance to send the TARDIS elsewhere," the Doctor said, "and because I know that she's going to use that key of hers. I know how clever she can be."

"You do have a habit of picking the smart ones," Jack said with a beaming smile, "not to mention the good looking ones."

It was then that she could feel the phone in her cargo pocket vibrate and she pulled it out of her pocket, answering it on the third ring.

"About time you got to the old girl," she stated with a sigh, "I need you to do one thing for me. I want you to hold the handset against the time rotor. The cylinder in the center of the console? Yes, that cylinder."

She removed the cell phone from her ear and pulled out her sonic screwdriver, twisted a few dials and activated it, pointing it at the cell phone for exactly ten seconds before putting the sonic screwdriver back.

"Gotcha," Allie said before removing the handset from her head and leaned over the console to place it against the cylinder.

She could vaguely hear whirring coming from the headset before she saw the liquid in the cylinder start to swirl around to become a whirlpool as she could hear the TARDIS start to dematerialize. The floor tilted at a rather precarious angle, sending her against the console as she places the phone back against her head.

"Just what exactly did you do?" she asked into the phone, a little annoyed.

"I gave the TARDIS the command to enter the time vortex and cruise around. She and everyone else inside her will be perfectly safe," the Doctor said from the other side of the phone, "the galley should be stocked well enough to feed everyone more than long enough for me to fix this."

"Aren't you going to need to get away too?" she asked.

"Someone needs to stop them," the Doctor said, "I need to stop them. You'll be just fine."

"Are you sure about this?" Jack asked as the Doctor pocketed the cell phone.

"I'm going to bust into a hotel controlled by a group who hates me with only a sonic screwdriver and a man who's a fact of the timeline. I think we're prepared for anything, especially if we need to put up some shelves in a hurry."

Author's Note: 3/28/13

And we're building up to a reveal and most likely some fireworks. Yay! This plot has been a rather tricky little thing lately. I started on this a few days ago but Murphy put an end to that. My awesome laptop is being extra finicky lately, shutting down if I have a blanket within a foot of it. I've also been watching some classic Doctor Who lately (mostly the fourth Doctor) and I'm working my way through the second season of the 8th Doctor audio dramas. I also finished writing the script for the first episode of an audio project a buddy's putting together (he's running the show, I'm the only writer he's pulled in as of yet). And I've also started on the second episode even if he can't do the script editing until the fourth (and I start college on April Fools, the same day that Camp NaNoWriMo starts).

I really want to get through this adventure because the next adventure is going to be a blast for me to write. And it's going to involve a slightly altered monster from a dream (I'm weird in that people in my dreams are more terrifying than any monster that shows up). That's going to be so much fun to write.

But what's got me worried is Camp NaNoWriMo. I have two different stories mulling around in my brain that I want to do (good thing there's also one in July!) and I have no clue which I want to do first. One's a fanfic of another franchise I enjoyed as a kid and the other's an original story where all the myths are true. Because of Camp NaNoWriMo and college, I may not be updating as often, but I will try for an update a week. I won't make any promises.

Also, before I forget, I want to do a call-out to 93MANIAC. I'm glad that you're one of the few people who are enjoying this story and I hope that this continues to be exciting for you.

And I'm so excited for the new episode that's going to air this weekend! *screams in excitement*

Stay Tuned and Stay Awesome!

~Gregora


End file.
